Gujarat continues to lag behind states such as Delhi, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu in organ transplantation, despite a growing number of patients in urgent need of life-saving organs.
According to a report in Sandesh, a vernacular daily, the state ranks sixth in the country in terms of organ transplants carried out between 2020 and 2024. In the last five years alone, 85 patients in Gujarat who were on the waiting list for organ transplants died before receiving the required organ from a donor.
Across the country, more than 2,800 patients lost their lives while waiting for organs during the same period. What is particularly shocking is that Gujarat has not received a single rupee of financial assistance under the National Organ Transplant Programme (NOTOP) for organ donation awareness campaigns in the last six years, the report states.
At present, a total of 9,592 patients in Gujarat are waiting for organs such as kidneys, liver, heart, lungs and pancreas. Despite being considered backward in organ donation, Gujarat ranks second in the country in terms of the number of patients on the waiting list. As of December 8, 2025, out of these 9,592 patients, the highest number—7,405—are waiting for kidney transplants, followed by 2,019 patients awaiting liver transplants. There are also 117 patients whose hearts have become extremely weak and are waiting for heart transplants, while 19 patients are waiting for lungs and 32 patients are awaiting pancreas transplants.
The demand for a transparent system to ensure that the right patient receives the right organ has been raised in Gujarat in the past as well. Serious allegations were earlier made against the Kidney Hospital at the Ahmedabad Civil Medicity Campus, claiming that organs were allotted to other patients, including foreign nationals, instead of those on the official waiting list.
There has been a sharp increase in liver failure cases in Gujarat. In the last five years, 749 patients have undergone liver transplants in the state. Most liver failure cases are being reported due to excessive alcohol consumption, a situation experts say has arisen because the liquor ban in Gujarat remains largely on paper. Alongside this, 3,769 kidney transplants have been carried out in the state. Uncontrolled diabetes, drug abuse and alcohol addiction are considered the main causes of kidney failure. When kidney failure occurs, patients are forced to depend on dialysis or undergo kidney transplantation. Decreased urination, swelling in the legs, difficulty in breathing, excessive fatigue and chest pain are among the major symptoms of kidney failure. Recently, the Union Health Department released updated statistics related to the status of organ donation and transplantation in the country.
At the same time, the rapidly increasing cases of heart attacks and related deaths in Gujarat have become a major topic of concern. Heart attacks are now the leading cause of death in the state. According to a report in Gujarat Samachar, a vernacular daily, 8,689 people died due to heart attacks in Gujarat in 2019, but this figure rose dramatically to 74,777 in 2023. In total, around 2.97 lakh people have died due to heart attacks and heart disease in the state over the last five years. On average, 205 people in Gujarat lose their lives every day due to heart attacks or heart disease. Deaths caused by partial or complete heart attacks have increased nine fold in five years, although there was a slight decline in heart disease deaths in 2023 compared to 2021, when 93,797 people died due to heart disease, the report says. Experts warn that these figures could rise further in 2024 and 2025.
Other causes of death also continue to take a heavy toll in Gujarat. In a single year, 24,853 people died due to respiratory and asthma-related problems, while 18,371 people lost their lives to cancer and 7,626 people were killed in vehicle accidents. Based on these figures, an average of 98 people die every day in the state due to respiratory diseases, while around 50 people die daily due to cancer. Overall, about 2.35 lakh people die in Gujarat each year due to various causes. During the Covid-19 pandemic, 5.23 lakh people died in the state in 2020, and this number increased to 7.25 lakh in 2021, according to the report.
Despite repeated claims of providing clean drinking water, public health concerns remain serious. In one year alone, 96 people died due to cholera, while 281 deaths were reported due to diarrhea, underscoring persistent gaps in basic health and sanitation systems across the state.
According to Dr. Karan Barot, spokesperson of Aam Aadmi Party in Gujarat, there cannot be politics on this subject. Barot, a doctor by profession, told Vibes of India that the state government should launch an awareness campaign to highlight that we are lagging behind other states in organ donation.
As regards the increase in the number of heart attacks, Dr. Barot said that these are also possible due to stress and equated monthly instalments of loans. Citing an example, he said that the salaries may well not be increasing but the person would be paying EMI for a costly mobile phone. An awareness campaign on stress related issues should also be taken up, he added.
Also Read: Gujarat Celebrates Organ Donation Day Today https://www.vibesofindia.com/gujarat-celebrates-organ-donation-day-today/
