NOTTO to have data of patients seeking cornea, other tissue transplants

The National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) has decided to create a centralised database of the patients waiting for cornea and other tissue transplantation. “Besides organ transplant and retrieval centres, all cornea transplant centres and tissue banks, including eye banks, registered by state authority are required to link with national registry maintained by NOTTO,” says a letter from NOTTO Director Dr Anil Kumar to all state authorities.

The apex transplant regulatory body has asked states to also share the number of corneas and tissues donated, the number of transplants conducted, and the number of corneas and tissues stored, according to the letter. To this end, the states have been asked to issue directions to all tissue transplant and banking organisations to mandatorily link to the national database.

NOTTO has also asked states to take action against non-performing eye banks. The letter asks states to consider warning notices or non-renewal of registration for eye banks that have on average less than 50 eyes or 100 cornea collection per year.

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“The authority can consider issuing a warning notice to the eye bank for augmenting their eye donation activities otherwise their renewal may not be considered for the next term,” according to the letter. The letter says that rules under Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act (THOTA) say that banks should collect a minimum of 500 corneas in five years.

The organisation is also considering an opt-out method for cornea donation, whereby anyone who dies in a hospital will be presumed to be a cornea donor unless they register their dissent.