The Union Health Ministry has proposed including liver and heart transplants under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme (AB-PMJAY) to address the current gap in organ transplant coverage, as most insurance policies in India cover life and disability but not organ donation procedures.
The recommendation was made in a report by the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO), the apex body overseeing organ transplantation in India. Titled the National Review Meeting on Organ Transplantation Activities in Government Hospitals, the report highlights the urgent need to improve access to organ transplants and strengthen infrastructure in public health institutions.
The proposal comes in the backdrop of India’s low organ transplant numbers. For instance, while the country needs over 100,000 kidney transplants annually, only around 13,476 were conducted in 2024 across both public and private sectors.
AB-PMJAY currently offers up to ₹5 lakh of free healthcare coverage per family annually and was recently expanded to include senior citizens aged 70 and above. Experts, however, note that high-cost procedures like liver and heart transplants, which can cost between ₹20–25 lakh in private hospitals and around ₹10 lakh in public hospitals, require increased financial support. They suggest that the PMJAY coverage limit should be raised to at least ₹10 lakh for such treatments.
Dr. Anil Kumar, Director of NOTTO, emphasized that the report offers a roadmap for policy reform, infrastructure investment, and capacity enhancement. It calls for establishing new transplant centres, improving manpower, and offering financial incentives to medical teams. “These suggestions aim to close the gap between the demand and availability of organ transplants in India,” he said.
The report also pointed out disparities among government institutions. While centres like the Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre (IKDRC), Ahmedabad, and PGIMER, Chandigarh, have been actively performing hundreds of transplants annually, others like GB Pant Hospital in New Delhi have not conducted any, despite having the necessary infrastructure and licenses.
Experts welcomed the proposal. Dr. Anup Kumar, head of kidney transplant and urology at Safdarjung Hospital, called the inclusion of heart and liver transplants under PMJAY a positive step. He stressed the need for increased financial coverage and comprehensive support to ensure more people benefit from life-saving procedures.
The health ministry is expected to review the recommendations and take appropriate steps to integrate them into the national health policy framework.