COVID-19 test not mandatory anymore for organ transplants: Health Ministry

In a significant change in policy, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced that uniform testing for COVID-19 will henceforth not be mandatory for asymptomatic donors and organ transplant recipients.

However, since the infection primarily affects the lungs, COVID RT-PCR testing will continue to be mandatory in lung transplant cases, even in asymptomatic individuals. The change to national transplant guidance on Covid-19 testing for organ donation and transplantation was announced on Tuesday.

In line with the recommendations of the top technical committee of the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO), it was decided to abandon COVID-19 testing for organ or tissue transplantation. For symptomatic cases of the donor or recipient or both, the call for COVID-19 testing will be evaluated by the treating doctors/clinicians based on their assessment.

Organs were wasted

The expert committee said that there are many cases of organs of asymptomatic donors being discarded due to COVID-19 positive report, leading to the loss of donated organs and tissues that could save the lives or improve the quality of life of a large number of people.

As the rate of organ donation continues to be very low in India, the waiting period for a COVID-19 test report sometimes delayed the allocation of a deceased donor’s organ for transplantation. In a memo sent to Health Ministers of all States/Union Territories, it was stated that the Covid-19 vaccination status of the donor or recipient does not affect the outcome of the transplant and the vaccination is not implemented under the government programme.

Currently, the incidence of Covid-19 cases has decreased significantly across the country. The guidelines will be reviewed from time to time as needed, depending on the situation of COVID-19.