The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994

This Act may be called the Transplantation of1[Human Organs and Tissues] Act, 1994. (2) It applies, in the first instance, to the whole of the States of Goa, Himachal Pradesh andMaharashtra and to all the Union territories and it shall also apply to such other State which adopts thisAct by resolution passed in that behalf under clause (1) of article 252 of the Constitution. (3) It shall come into force in the States of Goa, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra and in all theUnion territories on such date2as the Central Government may, by notification, appoint and in anyother State which adopts this Act under clause (1) of article 252 of the Constitution, on the date of suchadoption; and any reference in this Act to the commencement of this Act shall, in relation to any Stateor Union territory, means the date on which this Act comes into force in such State or Union territory

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) "advertisement" includes any form of advertising whether to the public generally or toany section of the public or, individually to selected persons; (b) "Appropriate Authority" means the Appropriate Authority appointed under section 13; (c) "Authorisation Committee" means the committee constituted under clause (a) or clause (b) ofsub-section (4) of section 9; (d) "brain-stem death" means the stage at which all functions of the brain-stem havepermanently and irreversibly ceased and is so certified under sub-section (6) of section 3; (e) "deceased person" means a person in whom permanent disappearance of all evidence of lifeoccurs, by reason of brain-stem death or in a cardio-pulmonary sense, at any time after live birthhas taken place; (f) "donor" means any person, not less than eighteen years of age, who voluntarily authorises theremoval of any of his human organs for therapeutic purposes under sub-section (1) orsub-section (2) of section 3; (g) "hospital" includes a nursing home, clinic, medical centre, medical or teaching institutionfor therapeutic purposes and other like institution; (h) "human organ" means any part of a human body consisting of a structured arrangement oftissues which, if wholly, removed, cannot be replicated by the body; 1[(ha) "Human Organ Retrieval Centre" means a hospital,-- (i) which has adequate facilities for treating seriously ill patients who can be potentialdonours of organs in the event of death; and (ii) which is registered under sub-section (1) of section 14 for retrieval of human organs;] (hb) "minor" means a person who has not completed the age of eighteen years; 2[(i) "near relative" means spouse, son, daughter, father, mother, brother, sister, grandfather,grandmother, grandson or granddaughter;] (j) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette; (k) "payment" means payment in money or money's worth but does not include any paymentfor defraying or reimbursing (i) the cost of removing, transporting or preserving the 3[human organ or tissue or both] to besupplied; or (ii) any expenses or loss of earnings incurred by a person so far as reasonably and directlyattributable to his supplying any human organ from his body; (l) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (m) "recipient" means a person into whom any 3[human organ or tissue or both] is, or isproposed to be, transplanted; (n) "registered medical practitioner" means a medical practitioner who possesses anyrecognised medical qualification as defined in clause (h) of section 2 of the Indian MedicalCouncil Act, 1956 (102 of 1956), and who is enrolled on a State Medical Register as defined inclause (k) of that section; (o) "therapeutic purposes" means systematic treatment of any disease or the measures toimprove health according to any particular method or modality; 3*** 4[(oa) "tissue" means a group of cells, except blood, performing a particular function in thehuman body; (ob) "tissue Bank" means a facility registered under section 14A for carrying out any activityrelating to the recovery, screening, testing, processing, storage and distribution of tissues, but does notto include a Blood Bank;] (p) "transplantation" means the grafting of any human organ from any living person ordeceased person to some other living person for therapeutic purposes; 4[(q) "transplant co-ordinator" means a person appointed by the hospital for co-ordinating allmatters relating to removal or transplantation of human organs or tissues or both and for assisting theauthority for removal of human organs in accordance with the provisions of sections 3.]

1[3. Authority for removal of 1[human organs or tissues or both].-- (1) Any donor may, in suchmanner and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, authorise the removal, before his death,of any 2[human organ or tissue or both] of his body for therapeutic purposes. 3[(1A) For the purpose of removal, storage or transplantation of such human organs or tissues or both,as may be prescribed, it shall be the duty of the registered medical practitioner working in a hospital, inconsultation with transplant co-ordinator, if such transplant co-ordinator is available,-- (i) to ascertain from the person admitted to the Intensive Care Unit or from his near relative thatsuch person had authorised at any time before his death the removal of any human organ or tissue orboth of his body under sub-section (2), then the hospital shall proceed to obtain the documentation forsuch authorisation; (ii) where no such authority as referred to in sub-section (2) was made by such person, to makeaware to that person or near relative for option to authorise or decline for donation ofhuman organs or tissues or both; (iii) to require the hospital to inform in writing to the Human Organ Removal Centre for removal,storage or transplantation of human organs or tissues or both of the donor identified inclauses (i) and (ii) in such manner as may be prescribed. (1B) The duties mentioned under clauses (i) to (iii) of sub-section (1A) from such date, as may beprescribed, shall also apply in the case of a registered medical practitioner working in an Intensive CareUnit in a hospital which is not registered under this Act for the purpose of removal, storage ortransplantation of human organs or tissues or both.] (2) If any donor had, in writing and in the presence of two or more witnesses(at least one of whom is a near relative of such person), unequivocally authorised at any time beforehis death, the removal of any human organ of his body, after his death, for therapeutic purposes,the person lawfully in possession of the dead body of the donor shall, unless he has any reason to believethat the donor had subsequently revoked the authority aforesaid, grant to a registered medicalpractitioner all reasonable facilities for the removal, for therapeutic purposes, of that 2[human organ ortissue or both] from the dead body of the donor. (3) Where no such authority as is referred to in sub-section (2), was made by any person before hisdeath but no objection was also expressed by such person to any of his 1[human organs or tissues or both]being used after his death for therapeutic purposes, the person lawfully in possession of the dead bodyof such person may, unless he has reason to believe that any near relative of the deceased person hasobjection to any of the deceased persons 1[human organs or tissues or both] being used fortherapeutic purposes, authorise the removal of any 2[human organ or tissue or both] of the deceasedperson for its use for therapeutic purposes. (4) The authority given under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) or, as the case may be,sub-section (3) shall be sufficient warrant for the removal, for therapeutic purposes, of the 2[humanorgan or tissue or both]; but no such removal shall be made by any person other than the registeredmedical practitioner: 3[Provided that a technician possessing such qualifications and experience, as may be prescribed,may enucleate a cornea.] (5) Where any 2[human organ or tissue or both] is to be removed from the body of a deceasedperson, the registered medical practitioner shall satisfy himself, before such removal, by a personalexamination of the body from which any 2[human organ or tissue or both] is to be removed, that life isextinct in such body or, where it appears to be a case of brain-stem death, that such death has beencertified under sub-section (6). (6) Where any 2[human organ or tissue or both] is to be removed from the body of a person in theevent of his brain-stem death, no such removal shall be undertaken unless such death is certified, in such form and in such manner and on satisfaction of such conditions and requirements as may be prescribed,by a Board of medical experts consisting of the following, namely:-- (i) the registered medical practitioner in charge of the hospital in which brain-stem death hasoccurred; (ii) an independent registered medical practitioner, being a specialist, to be nominated by theregistered medical practitioner specified in clause (i), from the panel of names approved by theAppropriate Authority; (iii) a neurologist or a neurosurgeon to be nominated by the registered medical practitionerspecified in clause (i), from the panel of names approved by the Appropriate Authority:4*** 5[Provided that where a neurologist or a neurosurgeon is not available, the registered medicalpractitioner may nominate an independent registered medical practitioner, being a surgeon or aphysician and an anaesthetist or intensivist subject to the condition that they are not members of thetransplantation team for the concerned recipient and to such conditions as may be prescribed;] (iv) the registered medical practitioner treating the person whose brain-stem death has occurred. (7) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (3), where brain-stem death of any person,less than eighteen years of age, occurs and is certified under sub-section (6), any of the parents of thedeceased person may give authority, in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed, for theremoval of any 6[human organ or tissue or both] from the body of the deceased person.]

4. Removal of 2[human organs or tissues or both] not to be authorised in certain cases.--(1) Nofacilities shall be granted under sub-section (2) of section 3 and no authority shall be given undersub-section (3) of that section for the removal of any 1[human organ or tissue or both] from the body of adeceased person, if the person required to grant such facilities, or empowered to give such authority, hasreason to believe that an inquest may be required to be held in relation to such body in pursuance of theprovisions of any law for the time being in force. (2) No authority for the removal of any 1[human organ or tissue or both] from the body of a deceasedperson shall be given by a person to whom such body has been entrusted solely for the purpose ofinterment, cremation or other disposal.

5. Authority for removal of 2[human organs or tissues or both] in case of unclaimed bodies inhospital or prison.--(1) In the case of a dead body lying in a hospital or prison and not claimed by anyof the near relatives of the deceased person within forty-eight hours from the time of the death of theconcerned person, the authority for the removal of any 1[human organ or tissue or both] from the deadbody which so remains unclaimed may be given, in the prescribed form, by the person in charge, forthe time being, of the management or control of the hospital or prison, or by an employee of suchhospital or prison authorised in this behalf by the person in charge of the management or control thereof. (2) No authority shall be given under sub-section (1) if the person empowered to give such authorityhas reason to believe that any near relative of the deceased person is likely to claim the dead body eventhough such near relative has not come forward to claim the body of the deceased person within the timespecified in sub-section (1).