NOTTO Initiatives | 19 Oct 2024

Source: IE 

Recently, the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) issued key initiatives regarding cornea and tissue transplants. 

• Centralised Database: NOTTO is developing a centralised database for patients awaiting cornea and other tissue transplants. 
• Mandatory Linking: All organ transplant, retrieval centres, cornea transplant centres, and tissue banks must link their data to NOTTO's national registry. 
• Eye Banks Performance: Eye banks are expected to collect a minimum of 50 eyes or 100 corneas per year.  
  • Under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994 (THOTA), eye banks must collect at least 500 corneas over five years to maintain their certification. 
• Presumed Consent for Cornea Donation: NOTTO is considering an opt-out model for cornea donation, where hospital deaths are presumed cornea donors unless the individual has explicitly opted out. 
• NOTTO is the apex organisation set up under the Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to monitor organ and tissue transplant services. 

Read More: NOTTO Annual Report 2023-24