A second chance: The uncertainty & struggle behind India's organ transplant boom
India's organ transplant system has seen significant growth, rising from under 5,000 procedures in 2013 to over 20,000 in 2025. Despite this progress, patients continue to face immense emotional and logistical challenges navigating the complex regulatory network.
Why it matters
The report highlights the gap between institutional growth in medical infrastructure and the lived experience of patients seeking life-saving care.
India’s transplant system has grown rapidly, from 4,990 transplants in 2013 to 20,138 in 2025. But for a patient, a transplant is far more than a surgical procedure. It is a journey through medical tests, clearances, documentation, waiting, uncertainty, organ matching and, eventually, surgery and lifelong follow-up.Transplant hospitals and coordinators are at the centre of this system, working within the wider network of the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisations (ROTTOs) and State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisations (SOTTOs).Yet statistics and institutional structures can obscure what the process actually feels like for the person waiting for an organ.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in