NEW DELHI: The Centre has asked states to ensure that hospitals follow the national guidelines on brain stem death certification, which aim to strengthen and streamline organ transplantation services in the country.
The national guidelines—a first of its kind—establish a uniform, evidence-based, and legally standardised framework across India on declaring brain deaths.
“We have urged them to ask hospitals and institutions under their jurisdiction to follow these guidelines. We want more hospitals to support these guidelines, as it will promote deceased organ donation in the country,” Dr Anil Kumar, Director, National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), under the Health Ministry, told this newspaper.
The need for the guidelines was felt because, while in Western countries, most organ donors are people who were declared brain dead, in India, this is around 5-6%.
“The successful realisation of deceased donation hinges entirely on the prompt, accurate, and transparent identification and certification of Brain Stem Death (BSD), and that is why we have requested the states to direct the hospitals to follow them,” Dr Kumar said.
He added that “a clear and standardised process for certifying Brain Stem Death is crucial to reassure grieving families that clinical evaluations are conducted with the highest legal and ethical safeguards.”
A deceased donor can save up to eight lives and improve the life of many others. A living donor alone can’t meet the growing demand for organs. “Certain organs like heart, lungs and tissues like cornea can only be donated by a deceased donor,” officials said.
Brain-Stem Death (BSD), also called brain death, happens when the brain stem stops working completely. Brain stem death is irreversible, and once declared brain stem dead, there is no hope of revival.
The national guidelines, which were launched in August, state that a board of four doctors, as specified in the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act rules, can certify a brain-stem-dead person based on a set of clinical tests, which are done twice with a minimum time interval of six hours between two sets of tests in adults.
