NEW DELHI: Over 200 people died in 2025 while waiting for kidney transplantation in India, the Centre informed the Lok Sabha on Friday.
In a written reply, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav said that 73,646 patients are currently awaiting kidney transplantation in the country, as of July 27.
As many as 132 people died in Delhi in 2025 while awaiting a kidney transplant, the highest number in the country.
Since 2021, the national capital has reported the highest number of deaths among people on the waiting list for kidney transplantation, according to the national registry portal.
In 2021, 176 people died while waiting for a kidney in Delhi. In 2022, 118 people lost their lives, while 159 people died in 2023 while awaiting kidney transplantation. In 2024, 148 people died before they could receive a kidney.
After Delhi, Rajasthan recorded the maximum number of deaths among people on the kidney transplant waiting list, at 19.
The other states are Goa (17), Maharashtra (15), Madhya Pradesh (11) and Haryana (10). Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh reported seven deaths each.
Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh reported two deaths each, while Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry and West Bengal reported one death each.
Other states where people died before they could receive a kidney are Bihar (5) and Punjab (4).
The minister said the government launched a nationwide year-long public awareness campaign, “Jug Jug Jiyo Abhiyaan”, on August 3, with the aim of promoting organ and tissue donation.
Further, the National Registry Portal has been upgraded and launched as a digital platform called e-Pratyaaropan to digitise organ donation and transplantation processes, improve transparency and ensure smooth services for patients in need.
He said that, as per the provisions of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act (THOTA), 1994, and the rules made thereunder, respective state governments are to ensure compliance with regard to the reporting of data by transplant hospitals on the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Registry (NOTTR), maintained by the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO).
He added that NOTTO, along with Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisations (ROTTOs) and State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisations (SOTTOs), carries out awareness programmes across the country to disseminate information and promote organ and tissue donation by engaging with various stakeholders.
Various awareness activities, such as poster making, slogan writing and special pledge campaigns, are organised regularly.
Also, a 24x7 call centre with a toll-free helpline number (1800114770) is functional to provide information, tele-counselling and coordination for organ donation. Messages are also disseminated through social media platforms on a day-to-day basis.
Citizens can take a pledge for organ and tissue donation through the web portal https://notto.abdm.gov.in. As of now, more than five lakh Aadhaar- verified pledges have been registered.
