- Why in news
- On 3 August 2026, the 16th Indian Organ Donation Day was observed in New Delhi by NOTTO. The Health Ministry launched the e-Pratyaropan platform, a NOTTO mobile app and the Jug Jug Jiyo Abhiyaan, and released two national guidelines.
- What it is
- NOTTO is the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization under the Union Health Ministry. It is the apex body for coordinating organ and tissue procurement, allocation and data across India. It works with regional (ROTTO) and State (SOTTO) bodies under the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994.
- Network
- The system has NOTTO at the top, five ROTTOs, 26 SOTTOs and about 1,200 registered hospitals.
- Deceased donor transplants
- Deceased donor transplants rose from 837 in 2013 to 3,526 in 2025.
- Why 3 August
- The day marks India's first successful deceased organ transplant on 3 August 1994, after the Transplantation of Human Organs Act (THOA) 1994 was brought in.
- Digital pledge portal
- The national digital pledge portal began in 2023 and has crossed five lakh Aadhaar-verified pledges.
- Legal basis
- THOA 1994 regulates removal, storage and transplantation of human organs and recognises brain-stem death. It bans commercial dealing in organs.
Don’t confuse with NOTTO vs ROTTO/SOTTO: NOTTO is the national apex body. ROTTOs work at regional level and SOTTOs at State level.
Laws, judgments and statutory bodies: 30 Prelims questions since 2013 (what the law says, who chairs, legal basis). In Mains, 44 news-triggered questions, most in GS2, asking for provisions and challenges.
Why it matters
- Record transplant numbers and a unified digital platform can make allocation more transparent and trusted.
- Standard brain-stem death and swap transplant guidelines can reduce variation across States.
Problems
- A large gap remains between demand for organs and their availability.
- Misconceptions about organ donation and low deceased donation limit supply.
Way forward
- Expand awareness and pledges, and build donor-retrieval and transplant capacity in more States and hospitals.
- Invest in disease prevention to reduce the need for transplants.
Put in your answer
Growth in transplants: Total transplants rose from 4,990 in 2013 to 20,138 in 2025.
- 2017Mains GS3 · Q6Describe stem cell therapy and its advantages over other treatments
- 2012Prelims Q21Ancient India's internal organ transplant knowledge by 3rd century AD
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Statutory body and health topic with new guidelines, but awareness-day content is unlikely to draw a question.
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.