An acute shortage of harvestable organs has prompted the central government to rethink the definition of "death" in terms of the law regarding organ transplants. Several officials from the health ministry and NITI Aayog have observed that there is a difference in the way death certificates define death, in the case of natural death and brain death. Hence, the proposed change to the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act will be aimed at addressing the anomalies in the definition of death in death certificates.

Dr. Anup Kumar, head of the kidney transplant department at Safdarjung Hospital, stated that in the case of natural death, a patient’s organs also stop working, but in the case of brain death, the death certificate mentions the vital organs that are alive, like the heart, lungs, etc. He also added that organs harvested from a braindead person can save at least seven lives and that at any given point of time in a metro city, about 10 patients are referred to intensive care units as braindead.

According to an official, "The plan is to create harmony in the definition of "death" in death certificates because the brain stem cell death definition differs from that of natural death in the certificate." So, there is a need to revise the definition of death specifically for organ donation and amend the existing Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act. He further added that the health ministry is preparing a roadmap on how to increase cadaver organ donation in India. Brain stem cell death cases increase the chance of harvesting important organs like the heart, kidneys, eyes, liver, etc.

In India, nearly 50,000 people need heart transplants, another 200,000 for kidneys, and another 100,000 for liver and eye transplants every year. But supply lags far behind due to certain challenging factors such as poor awareness among doctors, patients, and police, religious sensitivities, and the lack of medical infrastructure.

(Source: https://www.livemint.com/news/india/organ-transplant-may-get-a-legal-nudge-11664732209848.html )