India now ranks third in the world in organ donation and transplantation as the total number of organ transplants done per year in the country has increased to 12,746 in the year 2019, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) Mansukh Mandaviya has said.

• Mandaviya was citing a report by Global Observatory on Donation and Transplantation (GODT) while addressing 12th Indian Organ Donation Day recently.

• The total number of organ transplants done per year in the country has increased from 4,990 in the year 2013 to 12,746 in the year 2019 and India now ranks third in the world only behind USA and China.

• Similarly, the organ donation rate has increased to about four times as compared to 2012-13. However, the country is still facing a huge gap between the number of patients requiring transplantation and the number of people who consent to donate their organs after death.

• Further, the organ donation and transplantation activities have been negatively impacted due to Covid-19 pandemic which we hope to leave behind soon.

Since 2010, Indian Organ Donation Day is celebrated every year to commemorate the contributions made to society by deceased donors and their families.