"India is the 3rd best country in the world in terms of Organ Transplant"

Bhubaneswar (OG Bureau): A Dissemination Workshop-cum-Regional Continuing Medical Education (CME) programme on “Organ Transplantation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Healthcare” was successfully organised by All India Institute of Medical Sciences(AIIMS), Bhubaneswar in collaboration with the National Academy of Medical Sciences(NAMS) on Monday (March 30th 2026).

The programme witnessed participation from over 300 doctors representing four states Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, and Jharkhand, along with eminent experts in the fields of organ transplantation and AI in healthcare. The attendees included representatives from AIIMS Patna, AIIMS Deoghar, AIIMS Kalyani, and AIIMS Bhubaneswar, among others.

Addressing the inaugural session, Shri Subhasish Panda, Additional Secretary, Prime Minister’s Office(PMO), New Delhi, highlighted the transformative potential of AI in organ transplantation. AI could be a way forward for organ transplant by integrating vast datasets and assisting specialists in making informed decisions. He emphasized that AI can facilitate efficient donor-recipient matching using genetic, clinical, and laboratory data, enable real-time tracking of organ availability, optimize transportation routes for faster delivery, improve decision-making through predictive analytics and dashboards.

Shri Panda further stated that India ranks as the third leading country globally in organ transplantation, with approximately 20,000 transplants conducted last year. However, he pointed out that nearly 82% of donations are from living donors. Women constitute the largest donor group. A significant proportion of transplants occur in the private sector, limiting affordability. He stressed the need for increased public awareness and greater participation from government institutions.

Shri Panda said that AI could connect the entire together and tell us where the organ is available, it could also route or chart for us how the organ can be transported, which is the optimum route, minimum time taken for the organ to reach its destination where the transplant is going to take place.

With the vision of the Hon'ble Prime Minister and efforts of the Government of India in conjunction with the state governments, availability of access to treatment to medical care, medical education has taken a high stride. WHO has recognized the fact that India is a leading country globally in terms of reduction of maternal mortality rate (MMR) and infant mortality rate (IMR). Lauding the progress of AIIMS Bhubaneswar, the senior bureaucrat attributed that where Bhubaneswar did not have any good healthcare centres, we first of all had AIIMS sanctioned by the government of India and this has come out to be one of the eminent AIIMS in the country along with AIIMS Delhi.

Prof. (Dr.) Ashutosh Biswas, Executive Director & CEO of AIIMS Bhubaneswar, underscored the urgent need to expand donor pools, strengthen institutional readiness, and align with national policy strategies.

He announced that AIIMS Bhubaneswar is committed to establishing a regional centre of excellence for organ transplantation and artificial intelligence.

Dr. Digambar Behera, President of NAMS, highlighted the stark demand-supply gap. India requires nearly 5 lakh organs annually. Only about 3% of this demand is met. Over 82,000 patients remain on active waiting lists.

Dr. Bhagirathi Dwibedi, Organising Secretary of the CME, conveyed vote of thanks on the occasion.

Similarly, eminent dignitaries include AIIMS Rishikesh Executive Director & CEO Dr. Meenu Singh, AIIMS Awantipora Executive Director & CEO, Dr. Sachidananda Mohanty, AIIMS Kalyani Executive Director & CEO, Dr. Arvind Sinha, Ex. Director PGIMER, Chairman, Task Force, NAMS, Dr. Yogesh Kumar Chawla, IIT Bhubaneswar Director, Prof. Shreepad Karmalkar, ex- President AIIMS Bhubaneswar Dr. Subrat Kumar Acharya, AIIMS Kalyani President Dr. Y. K. Gupta, Secretary NAMS Dr. Umesh Kapil, State Nodal Officer SOTTO Odisha Dr. U. K. Satapathy. NITI Aayog Member Prof. V K Paul addressed the gathering virtually.

The CME also featured distinguished experts from premier institutions such as IIT Bhubaneswar, PGIMER Chandigarh, NISER Bhubaneswar, OTTET, IISER Berhampur, IGIMS Patna, as well as national transplant organizations including ROTTO and SOTTO.

The day-long CME covered a wide range of critical topics, including ethical and legal challenges in organ transplantation, national guidelines and recommendations, institutional preparedness and program development, antimicrobial resistance and pharmaco-therapeutics, strategies to promote organ donation, role and scope of AI in healthcare.

The CME concluded with a consensus on strengthening collaborative efforts, enhancing awareness, and leveraging artificial intelligence to improve outcomes in organ transplantation across India.