According to Union Health Secretary Mr. Rajesh Bhushan, India has recorded a quick comeback in organ transplant activity with COVID-19 and has reached more than 15,000 transplants annually for the first time in 2022.

On Sunday, Mr. Bhushan revealed that India has reported an annual increase of 27% in the number of transplants during his speech at the event, "National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) Scientific Dialogue 2023," hosted by the Union Ministry of Health.

In his speech, he emphasized the need to update the current structures and rules and stated that although there are existing structures at various governance levels, such as NOTTOs at the national level, SOTTOs at the state level, and ROTTOs at the regional level, it needs to be ensured that they work as well-oiled machinery while performing their mandate.

The health secretary highlighted the country′s shifting demographics by pointing out that India has a growing senior population. He added that it is crucial to update the communication and awareness strategies to encourage potential organ donors to come forward and assure their quality of life.

Additionally, he stated that "in addition to training programs, widespread publicity and awareness through not only print and electronic media but also interacting with local stakeholders and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) should be planned." Also, there is a need to increase the number of facilities where operations and transplants are performed.

Therefore, he suggested that the physical infrastructure should be used to its fullest extent in order to increase the number of operations and transplants in the nation, along with sensitizing and training medical professionals. He also stated that it is necessary to identify high-caseload institutions and bring them into the NOTT program network.