CHENNAI: Health Minister Ma Subramanian on Saturday said Tamil Nadu has bagged the award from the union government for highest number of cadaveric donations (268) in the country in 2024.
Speaking at the launch of ‘Nalam Kaakum Stalin’ by Chief Minister MK Stalin, Subramanian said Union Health Minister J P Nadda recently presented the award to Dr N Gopalakrishnan, member secretary, Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu (TRANSTAN).
Thanking those who saved many lives with their organs, Stalin, in a post on X, recalled that he had pledged for his organs to be donated even when he was Deputy Mayor of Chennai.
Subramanian said the number of cadaveric donations has seen a notable increase after CM’s announcement in September 2023 that state honours will be accorded to the deceased whose organs are donated after they are declared brain dead. Subramanian said since then organs of 479 brain dead people have been harvested with the consent of their families since then, saving the lives of thousands of people.
According to the TRANSTAN data, in 2024 the state received 268 donors, of which 146 were from government hospitals (54.48%) and 122 from private hospitals(45.52%). Of the 268, a total of 218 were male donors and 50 were female.
Of the donors, 863 major organs, and 637 minor organs were utilised. In 2022, the state received 156 donors and this increased to 178 in 2023 and 268 in 2024. The number of cadaveric donations last year is the highest since 2008.