Hyderabad: The Telangana government has initiated a major plan to expand access to organ transplant surgeries for economically weaker sections by setting up state-of-the-art centres at Gandhi, NIMS, and Osmania hospitals.
Each of the three hospitals will be assigned a team of three specialised transplant surgeons. Facilities for transplant surgeries of kidneys, livers, hearts, lungs, and corneas will be equipped at these centres. Gandhi Hospital is being developed into a super-speciality transplant hub.
The upcoming facilities will include advanced operation theatres, intensive care units, organ cold storage systems, and diagnostic technologies. Officials confirmed these services will be accessible to poor and middle-class patients.
The state also aims to upgrade all trauma care centres into organ retrieval units. These centres will facilitate organ collection from brain-dead patients, particularly in road accident cases. The government is introducing international-grade systems to improve transparency, speed, and efficiency in the organ donation and transplant process.
Officials studied successful models in Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu. Best practices in awareness campaigns, retrieval centre operations, and transplant coordination have been taken as reference.
To curb illegal transplants, the government is enforcing the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act (THOTA). A centralised digital platform is being built to monitor donor and recipient data in real time. Authorities believe this will block black-market operations and ensure fair allocation of organs.
Recognising the high cost of transplants, the government is planning to fully fund the procedures for financially distressed patients.
