80% of organ transplants between 1995 & 2021 were on men: Govt data

NEW DELHI: More than 80 per cent of the total 36,640 transplants from dead and living donors between 1995 and 2021 were performed on men, with the government saying it has taken several steps to address the gender disparity in the sphere. According to government data presented in Lok Sabha on Friday in a written response to a question, Minister of State for Health S P Singh Baghel said that of the total transplants, 29,695 were performed on men and 6,945 on women, which translates to a ratio of about 4:1.

However, the share of women receiving transplants increased from 27.6 per cent in 2019 to nearly 30 per cent in 2022.

The answer came in response to a question asked by YSR Congress Party MP Kuruva Gorantla Madhav. Madhav had asked if the government has taken cognisance of the fact that between 1995 and 2021, four out of five organ recipients have been men in the country and what are the steps taken to address the issue.

In his response, Baghel said the government has implemented the National Organ Transplant Programme under which steps have been taken to raise awareness on organ donation.

In order to narrow down the trend of gender disparity in organ transplants, the Ministry of Health has been conducting regular awareness and sensitisation sessions, he said.

Activities have been organised on various ethical aspects of organ donation and transplantation for different stakeholders such as state government representatives, legal representatives, police personnel, non-governmental organisations, healthcare professionals of Institutions/hospitals, etc.