Slug: NOTTO DataAhmedabad: New centres, increased awareness and an improved network have contributed to Gujarat witnessing a rising number of organ donations and transplants. In 2025, with 456 organs retrieved from 152 brain-dead patients, Gujarat stood fourth nationally, after Tamil Nadu (804), Telangana (601) and Karnataka (575), show data released by National Organ and Tissue Transplantation Organization (NOTTO) on Monday.The number of cadaver organ donations, however, did not surpass the 2023 figure of 469 – the highest so far in a calendar year.Anupriya Patel, MoS (health and family welfare), Govt of India, along with senior ministry officials, released the NOTTO annual report 2025-26 in New Delhi at an event to commemorate the 16th Indian Organ Donation Day.The report shows that deceased organ donors increased from 119 in 2024 to 152 in 2025. Gujarat State Organ and Tissue Transplantation Organization (SOTTO) convener and IKDRC director Dr Pranjal Modi said that the rise can be seen in terms of an improved network of hospitals working as organ retrieval centres and better awareness.“The recent stoppage at Ankleshwar by Vande Bharat Express to get a deceased donor’s heart and ferry it to Ahmedabad was a case from a private hospital. Apart from hubs Surat and Ahmedabad, several other centres are emerging as both retrieval and transplant centres, which is an encouraging sign,” said Dr Modi.According to NOTTO data, kidneys and livers made up 96% of the organs transplanted in Gujarat. Out of the total 1,379 organ transplants, 1,099 were kidneys, 229 were livers, 36 were hearts, six were lungs and nine were pancreases. Gujarat stood third in heart transplants and second in pancreas transplants.In 2025, 15 foreign nationals received organ transplants in Gujarat, the seventh highest in India, according to NOTTO.Two experts from Gujarat – Dr Vivek Kute and Dr Divyesh Engineer – were among the members of National SWAP Transplantation Expert Committee that formulated national guidelines on swap transplantation. These guidelines too were released on Monday at the New Delhi event. Gujarat performs the highest number of swap kidney transplants in India, according to experts. In such cases, the donor and recipient mismatch is addressed with chain transplants.
