India faces a critical shortage of organs for transplantation with the rate of organ donation continuing to be less than one deceased donor per million population and with thousands of patients on waiting list for different organs.
To help these patients National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) has written to States and Union Territories stating that imparting training to first responders in road accident emergencies — police personnel, ambulance drivers, emergency medical technicians (EMT), para-medical staffs etc — could play vital role in identification of potential donors and timely referral and harvesting of organs from those who give consent for donation.
It said that large number of deaths occur due to road traffic accidents (RTAs), especially involving young and otherwise healthy individuals.
As per the report titled “Road accidents in India 2023” of Ministry of Road Transport & Highways around 1.7 lakh persons were killed in road accidents in the year 2023, which could have been potential organ donors.
Many of these potential organ donors are lost due to lack of timely identification and referral, said the letter.
“It is required to put in place mechanisms for flow of information from the first responders to the transplant coordinators available in the nearest trauma centres or hospitals or medical colleges. These efforts will potentially save the lives of accident victims, and in other cases organ donation may be considered in identified brain stem death cases as per the procedures laid down in the Transplantation of Human Organs & Tissues Act, 1994 and rules thereunder,” it noted.
NOTTO has directed that training programs may be organized with stakeholders in coordination with the State Government Authorities for the first responders incorporating basic knowledge about organ donation, identification and maintenance of potential donors, counselling and consent of the family members etc.
It added that the timely and appropriate referral to designated trauma or organ retrieval centers can significantly enhance the rate of deceased organ donation in the country.
NOTTO added that this can be a cascading mode of training through training of trainers which integrates basic modules on organ donation awareness, brain stem death identification, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for trauma referrals.
It has also said that there should be coordination with Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (ROTTOs) and State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (SOTTOs) for technical support and training content and all necessary directions be issued to State Ambulance Services (including 108, 102, and private operators) to ensure participation of all first responders including police personnel, ambulance drivers, other ambulance staffs namely emergency medical technicians (EMT), paramedical staffs for attending the training sessions.
Additionally, all trauma centres should be upgraded and strengthened with necessary infrastructure and manpower required for organ harvesting from deceased organ donors, it noted.
Published – November 08, 2025 10:38 am IST
