Near Relatives Category for Organ Donation Likely to Expand

Almost eighty percent of organ donations that happen in India today are through live donations and only a mere 20 percent is through cadaver donations. However, with the size of average family going down, the number of relatives who can legally donate an organ are limited. According to the health ministry, about 5, 500,000 people die every year in India due to non-availability of organs for transplantation. In an attempt to reduce the gap between the demand and supply, the government has proposed the expansion of the "near relative" category to include extended family members including cousins, in-laws, step parents and their siblings.