VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh has achieved a significant milestone in the field of organ donation, securing the sixth place, according to the latest rankings released by the National Organ and Tissue Transplantation Organisation (NOTTO), the apex body under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Health Minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav announced AP’s achievement, highlighting the growing public awareness and participation in organ donation across the State.
He mentioned that in the past two months, 64 patients got a new lease of life through organ transplants. This marks a sharp increase compared to the same period in previous years — 31 organs from 12 donors in early 2025 and 30 organs from 10 donors in 2024. “The rising numbers reflect the compassion and nobleness of our people, and the success of awareness campaign under Jeevandan, established in 2015 after the State bifurcation,” he said.
Following the recent High Court directions, he reviewed the progress of transplant surgeries in government hospitals. The number of hospitals performing organ transplants has risen from three to nine, including Vizag’s KGH and VIMS, Guntur GGH, Kurnool GGH, Vijayawada GGH, Tirupati SVIMS, Mangalagiri AIIMS, Sri Padmavathi Children’s Heart Centre in Tirupati and Palasa Kidney Research Centre.
1,200 patients benefited from transplants: Min
Permission has also been extended to hospitals in Kakinada, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Ongole, Anantapur, Kadapa and Tirupati for organ retrieval from brain-dead patients after getting consent from their families.
Officials informed that eight kidneys and one liver have been transplanted from brain-dead donors, alongside 87 kidney transplants from living related donors. A landmark achievement was recorded recently when a private hospital near Vijayawada successfully performed a heart transplant using an organ from a brain-dead donor.
The Health Minister emphasised that over 1,200 patients have benefited from organ transplants in Andhra Pradesh, with 301 getting a new lease of life last year.
Now, more than 5,000 patients are registered and awaiting transplants, most of them between 20 and 50 years of age — a productive age group where organ failure has severe social and economic consequences. Notably, 38 children under nine are also on the waiting list.
To honour donors, the government has issued GO 95, providing State honours during the last rites and a financial assistance of Rs 10,000 to families of the deceased. A proposal has been made to increase the aid to Rs 1 lakh, he said.
Andhra Pradesh’s steady progress in organ donation reflects both institutional commitment and public participation.