Amid complaints of organ trade, Tamil Nadu reconstitutes transplant authorisation committees

CHENNAI: In the wake of recurring complaints about organ trade, the State Health and Family Welfare Department has reconstituted the State and district-level Authorisation Committees to strengthen oversight and accountability in the transplant process.

The Government Order dated September 8, issued by Health and Family Welfare Secretary P Senthilkumar, stated that the restructuring was done under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994, and subsequent rules framed in 2014. The revised framework is aimed at enhancing transparency, ensuring ethical compliance, and addressing public concerns over the misuse of organ donation systems, it said.

As per the order, the State-level Authorisation Committee will be chaired by the Director of Medical Education and Research, and will include the Deans of Stanley and Kilpauk Medical Colleges, senior police officials, a woman doctor representative of the Indian Medical Association, and officials from the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services.

This committee will review applications of foreign nationals and patients from other states seeking transplants in Tamil Nadu, besides overseeing the functioning of the district-level committees.

At the district level, four regional committees have been established in Chennai (Northern Region), Thanjavur (Central Region), Coimbatore (Western Region), and Madurai (Southern Region). These committees, chaired by the Deans of the respective government medical colleges, will scrutinise and approve or reject applications for transplants within their jurisdiction. Senior doctors from general medicine and surgery, representatives of the district administration, senior police officers, and women doctors nominated by IMA will be part of the panel.

The order outlines strict roles for the committees, including verifying the donor-recipient relationship, ensuring there is no coercion, and checking the authenticity of identity documents. In cases of unrelated donors, committees should do deeper scrutiny, with assistance from police or revenue officials when necessary. The guidelines also recommend involving reputed non-profit organisations to counsel donors and recipients on the medical, legal, and psychological aspects of transplantation.

To strengthen record-keeping, authorised hospitals must submit monthly reports on transplant applications and outcomes. The order also prescribes a processing fee of Rs 2,000 per application, half of which will go to the government account and the remaining will be used to meet the committees’ administrative expenses.

The government has emphasised that the revamped system seeks to balance the urgent medical needs of patients with strong safeguards against exploitation, ensuring that Tamil Nadu's organ transplantation framework remains transparent, accountable, and humane.