MP's All Eye Banks To Mandatorily Register With National Organ Transplant Organisation

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Following the directions of National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), the State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO) has instructed all eye banks in the state to register with the apex organ donation and transplant regulatory.

The eye banks are also required to submit detailed data on cornea retrieval, waiting lists, and transplants to NOTTO through SOTTO. The NOTTO has emphasised the mandatory registration of hospitals and eye banks performing tissue and cornea transplants with the national registry.

“These institutions must share comprehensive data, including the number of patients on the waiting list for cornea transplants, the number of cornea donations and transplantations conducted, and the amount of corneas stored and utilised. This data will be integrated into the centralised platform, allowing the public to view waiting lists for cornea transplants, akin to lists for organ transplants like liver and kidney,” Dr Sanjay Dixit, the then Dean and appropriate authority, SOTTO, said.

Referring to a letter from NOTTO director Dr Anil Kumar to all states and Union Territories, Dr Dixit said that the state authorities must collect and report monthly data on cornea donations and transplants.

The need for a unified registry system for cornea donation, retrieval, and distribution was highlighted in a meeting chaired by the Director General of Health Services on May 14. The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994 (THOTA) mandates a national registry to maintain records of organ and tissue donors and recipients. All tissue banks, including eye banks, are now required to link with NOTTO and contribute regularly to this centralised database.