AP Proposes Rs.1 Lakh Aid for Organ Donor Families
Nearly 5,920 people are awaiting organ transplants in the state -- including around 3,000 kidney, 2,000 liver and 100 heart patients. Four patients are waiting for pancreas transplants
Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh government proposes a raise in the financial assistance being provided to families who gave their consent for organ donation by brain-dead patients -- from Rs.10,000 to Rs.1 lakh.
This was stated in the assembly on Wednesday by health minister Satya Kumar Yadav. The proposal has been sent the chief minister for consideration, Yadav said while introducing the Human Organs Transplantation Amendment Bill, 2026. The assembly passed the bill after a discussion.
Nearly 5,920 people are awaiting organ transplants in the state -- including around 3,000 kidney, 2,000 liver and 100 heart patients. Four patients are waiting for pancreas transplants.
The list includes one-month-old infants to 90-year-olds, with around 40 children below 10 also awaiting organs. A single brain-dead donor can provide up to eight organs, the minister said.
The government, he said, has been conducting awareness programmes to dispel misconceptions about organ donation. MLAs have been urged to participate in the campaign. Badminton star PV Sindhu recently helped spread awareness at a programme in Visakhapatnam, he noted.
Families consenting to organ donation currently receive a small sum of `10,000 and the donor’s last rites are conducted with state honours. The government is also examining employment under outsourcing or contract arrangements for eligible members of donor families based on their financial circumstances.
Yadav said the number of organ transplant centres in the state has been increased from three to nine. The government plans to develop all 12 teaching hospitals as transplant centres and expand transplantation services in the public sector.
The Padmavati Hospital conducted 18 heart transplants last year, he noted.
Organ donation has increased from 41 donors and 126 transplants in 2023 to 66 donors and 210 transplants in 2024; and 93 donors and 300 transplants in 2025. This year, 74 donors have enabled more than 200 transplants. The target is to cross 100 donors and 400 transplants by year-end.
The amended law recognises grandparents and maternal uncles and aunts, besides spouses, parents, children and siblings, as close relatives. It also provides for designated transplant coordinators at recognised hospitals.
The bill permits “swap donation” between compatible donor-recipient pairs in two families and allows organ retrieval after cardiac death in specified cases. Strict restrictions will apply to donations by minors, while foreign nationals will require special permission.
As per the bill’s provisions, illegal organ removal will attract up to 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs.20 lakh. Organ trafficking will invite jail of five to 10 years and fines of 20 lakh to Rs.1 crore.
