AP plans organ transplant at 12 Govt Teaching Hospitals

Organ donation has steadily increased in the State  from 26 donors in 2022 to 41 in 2023, 66 in 2024 and 93 in 2025. In 2026 so far, 180 organs have been retrieved from 57 donors

Metro India News | AMARAVATI

In a major move to make costly organ transplant procedures accessible to poorer families, the Andhra Pradesh government is drawing up a phased action plan to develop 12 government teaching hospitals into full-fledged organ transplant centres, Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav announced on Sunday.

Addressing a State-level awareness programme organised by Jeevandan at the AU Convention Centre in Visakhapatnam ahead of National Organ Donation Day, the Minister said 5,935 patients are currently waiting for different organs in Andhra Pradesh.

He said organ transplantation should not remain predominantly confined to private hospitals because the high cost places treatment beyond the reach of many economically weaker families.

In the first phase, the government is examining expansion of kidney transplant services at teaching hospitals in Visakhapatnam, Palasa, Kurnool, Vijayawada, Guntur, Tirupati and Kakinada. The government is also exploring liver transplantation services by 2028 and heart transplantation facilities in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Kurnool by 2030.

The programme would require recruitment of specialist doctors, sophisticated equipment, transplant ICUs and other supporting infrastructure, he said.

According to the Minister, Andhra Pradesh had only three organ transplant centres when the coalition government assumed office, while the number has now increased to nine. The next objective is to strengthen the public healthcare network through 12 government institutions.

Satya Kumar said the government currently provides Rs 10,000 towards funeral expenses to organ donor families and that he had proposed increasing the assistance to Rs 1 lakh to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

Requests have also been received to consider contractual or outsourcing employment for eligible members of donor families and pensions based on their financial circumstances, he said.

Organ donation has steadily increased in the State  from 26 donors in 2022 to 41 in 2023, 66 in 2024 and 93 in 2025. In 2026 so far, 180 organs have been retrieved from 57 donors.

Badminton star P.V. Sindhu, who participated in the programme, described donor families as the real champions. “I have fought many difficult battles on the badminton court, but agreeing to donate organs while grieving the loss of a family member requires extraordinary courage. My sporting achievements appear small before such families,” she said.

Sindhu said a person’s greatest legacy could be a heartbeat continuing in another human being, and appealed to people, particularly youngsters, to pledge their organs.

The event turned emotional when donor families narrated how the organs of their deceased loved ones had given others a second chance at life. The Minister felicitated the families, acknowledging their courage and sacrifice.