NEW DELHI: India faces a widening gap between demand for kidney transplants and the availability of donor organs, with 61,668 patients on the waiting list, nearly five times the number of kidney transplants performed as of Feb 9, a parliamentary standing committee has said.The committee on health and family welfare has recommended that kidney transplant facilities be expanded to at least three govt medical colleges in large states and one in every small state and UT, besides setting time-bound targets to increase organ retrieval centres and transplant infrastructure, particularly in underserved and hilly regions.India performed 11,558 living-donor and 1,918 deceased-donor kidney transplants in 2024, while 61,668 patients remained on the waiting list as of Feb 9.

The committee — in its report tabled in the recently concluded monsoon session of Parliament — said the figures highlight the widening mismatch between demand and capacity and the continued dependence on living donors.It said transplant activity remains concentrated in a handful of states and metropolitan centres, including Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka, leaving access uneven across the country.

The committee attributed the shortage partly to India’s low deceased-organ donation rates, citing social misconceptions, inadequate awareness, limited organ retrieval infrastructure and procedural bottlenecks. It has called for a nationwide behavioural-change campaign and stronger hospital-based organ retrieval and transplant coordination systems.Data from the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation for 2019-23 showed that women constituted 63.8% of living organ donors, while men accounted for 69.8% of transplant recipients. The committee has sought a study to determine whether socioeconomic, cultural, financial or gender-related barriers contribute to the disparity.