THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Keralam recorded 26 deceased organ donations in the eight months of 2026, its highest in recent years. This is also the second straight year that the state has recorded over 20 deceased organ donations, signalling renewed public confidence in the process.
The latest was on Saturday, August 29, when a 65-year-old man’s organs, kidneys and liver were donated after he was declared brain dead at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.
Dr Noble Gracious, the executive director of Kerala Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (K-SOTTO), attributed the recent rise to multiple factors, including increased public awareness.
“We were able to create awareness among the public. We continue receiving inquiries about donating organs from students and people from across the state,” said Dr Noble Gracious. K-SOTTO is the nodal agency that coordinates organ donations in the state.
He said recent examples of 6-month-old Aalin Sherin, the state’s youngest donor, helped citizens realise that organ donation was a social responsibility. “People realise that organ donation can help several people and their families. Moreover, there is now greater public awareness that deceased organ donation is preferable to living organ donation,” he said.
Kerala had registered the highest deceased organ donations in 2015 at 76. The following year, the number dropped slightly to 72. Post the pandemic, the donations plummeted to 17 in 2021 and 14 in 2022.
‘Initiatives by K-SOTTO, govt helped build confidence’
In 2024, this came down further to 11 before jumping to 25 in 2025. Experts at the time had attributed the drop to a loss of public confidence and controversies related to organ donations involving doctors and hospitals.
“Initiatives by K-SOTTO and the state government have helped build confidence among doctors, hospitals and the public. We trained doctors on certifying brain death without errors. Hospital staff were also educated on the procedure. The cooperation of the police and other departments is also commendable,” said Dr Noble.
Recently, Keralam secured the Union government’s award for the ‘State with Efficient Revival of Deceased Organ Donation Programme.