Glossary term · Law & regulation
NOTTO (also: National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation): NOTTO is India’s apex government body for organ and tissue transplantation, implementing the National Organ Transplant Programme and keeping the national donor and recipient registry.
NOTTO is the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation. It is the apex national body that runs India’s National Organ Transplant Programme under the Directorate General of Health Services in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. It keeps the national registry of donors and recipients and coordinates organ allocation through a regional and state network.
What does NOTTO do?
The Directorate General of Health Services describes NOTTO as the apex organisation for implementing the National Organ Transplant Programme. It carries out activities under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act 1994. It runs a structured system for organ procurement and distribution. It also maintains the national registry of donors and recipients.
NOTTO is based on the Safdarjung Hospital campus in New Delhi. Its offices are in the ICMR Institute of Pathology building. It also runs a 24-hour helpline for people who wish to pledge their organs.
How does NOTTO fit with regional and state bodies?
NOTTO sits at the top of a three-tier network. Below it are five Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisations (ROTTOs) and a growing number of State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisations (SOTTOs). Together they form the National Human Organs and Tissues Removal and Storage Network. This network links registered transplant, retrieval and tissue-banking hospitals.
What does NOTTO mean for an international patient?
Most foreign patients who travel to India for a transplant receive an organ from a near-relative living donor. That route is approved by the hospital authorisation committee under the transplant law. It does not depend on NOTTO’s deceased-donor waiting list. Knowing that NOTTO exists still helps. It shows that transplantation in India is a regulated national system, not an informal market.
IndiaMedica’s position
IndiaMedica never sources donors. We only help patients who arrive with an eligible near-relative donor and the documents the law requires.
Questions people ask
Can a foreign patient join NOTTO’s deceased-donor waiting list?
Allocation of organs from deceased donors is managed through the NOTTO, ROTTO and SOTTO network under Indian rules. Ask the transplant hospital directly how those rules apply to your nationality. Most international patients plan around a near-relative living donor instead, approved by the hospital authorisation committee.
Does NOTTO approve my living-donor transplant?
No. Living-donor transplants are reviewed by the authorisation committee of the hospital or state. NOTTO runs the national programme and registry. The hospital will explain which committee hears your case and which documents your embassy must certify, including Form 21.
Sources
General information, not medical or legal advice. Rules change: confirm with the official source. How we write and check.