It needs to be recalled that as back as twenty one years, an Act captioned Jammu and Kashmir Transplantation of Human Organs was enacted with the aim and objective of removal, storage and transplantation of human organs and to ensure prevention of commercial dealings of human organs. How much this Act has proved beneficial to the needy patients in Jammu and Kashmir and to what extent its implementation has been ensured to be successful, much less said the better.
There is increasing demand from those suffering from different life threatening ailments requiring transplant of organs and deriving benefits from National Organ Transplant Programme of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare through the State Government even though there are numerous directions from the State High Court in this regard as well. The State Government has been found jaunting and cruising at will in respect of the same and reports are that till date, Jammu and Kashmir has totally failed to obtain any benefit of the programme launched several years back by the Union Government under its National Organ Transplant Programme to promote organ donation.
The drifting approach of the successive State Governments in availing benefits including financial ones, from the Union Government is notwithstanding the fact that State High Court has passed many directions vis-a-vis setting up of organ transplant centres in the Public Interest Litigation which raised the issue of extremely critical deficiency of organ transplant centres in the State. This serious issue has remained pending in the court since 2013 is what Division Bench of State High Court has observed while hearing the case a few days ago. We hope that the State Government, now takes the matter seriously for resolution.