Is India Winning the War Against Rising Non-Communicable Diseases? The latest health statistics paint a concerning picture: diabetes, heart disease, and cancer rates are climbing, impacting millions across the country. From rural healthcare access to the burgeoning urban health crisis, challenges remain significant. This week, we delve into the crucial initiatives underway – government policies, technological advancements in telemedicine, and the rising role of preventative healthcare – that aim to address this national health emergency. Experts weigh in on the effectiveness of current strategies and the critical need for increased public awareness campaigns targeting lifestyle diseases. Are these efforts enough? Explore Abtak.com's in-depth coverage on healthcare in India and discover the vital information you need to protect your well-being and the future of public health. Stay informed; stay healthy.
US health officials have introduced a groundbreaking rule enabling kidney and liver transplants from HIV-positive donors to HIV-positive recipients outside of research settings. This historic decision is set to broaden the pool of available organs, thus benefiting patients irrespective of their HIV status. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra emphasized that the rule effectively eliminates barriers, enhancing transplant accessibility and outcomes for individuals with HIV. Solid research, such as a notable study from the New England Journal of Medicine, underscores the safety of these procedures, revealing comparable survival rates between recipients of HIV-positive and HIV-negative donor organs. While the concept emerged in South Africa in 2010, it wasn't embraced in the US until 2013 when restrictions were lifted. Since then, notable advancements, including the first living donor HIV-to-HIV kidney transplant at Johns Hopkins University in 2019, have paved the way for a total of 500 such transplants in the country.
Jaipur: The 23-year-old patient who received the heart, kidney and lungs of a brain-dead patient -- that were airlifted in the first such instance of organ transport in Rajasthan -- died on Tuesday late night at the SMS Hospital here. The hospital's senior doctor and spokesperson Dr Manish Agarwal said the complicated surgery was successful. Doctors tried hard to save the woman, but could not succeed, after which the patient died. The organs were airlifted for the first time in Rajasthan. The heart, kidney and lungs of Vishnu Prasad, a brain-dead youth in Jhalawar, were transported to Jaipur ...Read More >
Finding a suitable kidney donor is still the biggest obstacle, even though Prabhas' support has given the family hope. Telugu actor Prabhas has come forward to show support for veteran comedian Fish Venkat, who is receiving treatment in the intensive care unit and is in critical condition. The well-known philanthropist actor has promised to pay for Venkat's urgent kidney transplant. Sravanthi, Venkat's daughter, confirmed in an interview with One India that Prabhas' team has committed to paying ...Read More >
CHENNAI: Two hospitals in Coimbatore collaboratively performed the country's first inter-hospital swap liver transplant on two patients suffering from end-stage liver disease. The complex procedure was executed between GEM Hospital and Sri Ramakrishna Hospital in Coimbatore. The patients, a 59-year-old man from Salem admitted in GEM and a 53-year-old man from Tirupur in Sri Ramakrishna, were both in need of liver transplants. Their wives were willing to donate, but blood group incompatibility ruled out direct donation. In a rare stroke of opportunity, doctors identified that a 'swap transpla ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], July 20 (ANI): Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury on Sunday expressed concern over the government inaction in bringing to justice the terrorists behind the April 22 Pahalgam attack, which killed 26 civilians, including a Nepali citizen. As the Parliament Monsoon session begins, Chowdhury stated that the INDIA bloc will raise this issue, demanding answers from the government. Speaking to ANI, Chowdhury said, The Parliament session is starting, so we have reached Delhi. We have not been able to see those who killed our countrymen in the terrorist attack in Pahalgam arrested yet. T ...Read More >
Heart transplant patients in the United States typically spend months waiting for a donated organ. But Kayoko Hira was not a typical patient. Mrs. Hira, the wife of a hotel magnate in Japan, flew to the United States in September 2021, went to the University of Chicago Medical Center and, within days, got a new heart from an American teenager who had died. Soon after, The New York Times found, a charity run by her husband made a donation to a nonprofit group led by the heart surgeon's wife. It ...Read More >
Chennai : NephroPlus, a leading network of dialysis centres, brought its flagship patient engagement initiative 'Aashayein 2026' to life at The Vijay Park, Madhavaram, Chennai, uniting dialysis patients, caregivers, nephrologists and healthcare experts for a powerful day of hope, resilience and community spirit. The event spotlighted inspiring patient success stories, celebrating individuals who have shown extraordinary strength and commitment to their treatment journey, uplifting and motivating the wider patient community. The event witnessed participation from approximately 200 guests (pati ...Read More >
CHENNAI: Two liver failure patients in Coimbatore -- a 59-year-old in GEM Hospital and a 53-year-old in Sri Ramakrishna Hospital -- were desperate when doctors told them a transplant would be complicated as their wives' organs were incompatible. However, their doctors found a possibility for a swap transplant, which allows patients to exchange donors with another family in a similar situation.Both hospitals performed the surgeries simultaneously in two different operation theatres located 5 km ap ...Read More >
Mumbai: The Maharashtra government is planning to increase the budget for organ transplants under the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Arogya Yojana, Health Minister Prakash Abitkar announced on Wednesday, pledging wider financial support for patients in need. The commitment came during a moving ceremony at Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children to mark World Organ Donation Day, where donor families were honoured for their life-saving contributions. Wadia Hospital Secures Pediatric Heart Transplant License The event, filled with emotion and gratitude, featured a soulful prayer dance by Riddhi-Sidd ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: The National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) has suggested prioritising women in allocation of deceased donor organs.In a letter to the states/UTs, the apex authority for regulating organ donations and transplants in the country, has said a provision should be made to mark additional points for women recipients of donor organs, to address gender disparity. Studies have shown that while women make up a large percentage of donors, they receive fewer organs than men. "Women are equally vulnerable when it comes to end-stage organ failure due to illness, and it is import ...Read More >
CHENNAI: GEM Hospital and Sri Ramakrishna Hospital, located five-kilometre apart in Coimbatore, have pulled off simultaneous liver transplants for two men in their fifties, involving an inter-hospital swap of organs from donors, who were each other's wives. Addressing the media here on Friday, the hospitals claimed that this was the first time in India that such liver transplants involving inter-hospital swap were done. The patients, aged 59 from Salem and 53 from Tiruppur respectively admitted in GEM and Ramakrishna hospitals, were in dire need of liver transplants. Although their respective ...Read More >
Medak: Telangana State BJP President N. Ramchander Rao on Friday appealed to the people to give the committed party an opportunity to meet the aspirations of the poor and downtrodden. Addressing a large gathering of party workers in Medak, the BJP chief remarked that citizens have experienced the rule of the BRS and the Congress party and have had bitter experiences with the deceitful practices of both. He urged people to support the BJP wholeheartedly in the upcoming local body elections as a way to teach the ruling Congress party a lesson for its unfulfilled promises. Rao emphasized that t ...Read More >
Kolkata : To commemorate Indian Organ Donation Day -- observed annually on August 3rd to mark the anniversary of India's first successful deceased donor heart transplant -- Manipal Hospital, EM Bypass, organized a Patient Education Programme aimed at spreading awareness about the importance of organ donation and transplantation. The session was graced by (Prof.) Dr. Dilip Kumar Pahari, Senior Consultant and Head of Nephrology, Manipal Hospital, EM Bypass and (Prof.) Dr. Arpita Ray Chowdhury (Lahiri), Senior Consultant - Nephrology and Transplant President of the Indian Society of Organ Transpl ...Read More >
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday permitted a 58-year-old doctor to donate one of her kidneys without expectation of any reward. A bench headed by Justice Suraj Govindaraju heard a petition filed by the doctor, who had approached court after her application, seeking permission for donation, was rejected by the Organ Transplant Committee of Manipal Hospital. It noted that several tests need to be conducted before donating the kidney and directed the committee to check the availability of persons eligible to receive the kidney as a donation. The hospital told court it has identi ...Read More >
Hyderabad: The four-member expert committee, formed by the Telangana government to investigate the alleged kidney racket at Alaknanda Hospital here, has put a plastic surgeon also under the scanner. The panel is currently questioning a large group of people, including kidney donors, recipients, and doctors, to unearth the details behind the racket. Officials said a comprehensive report will be submitted to the Director of Medical Education (DME) today. DME's Statement Speaking about the probe, the DME Dr. N. Vani claimed that there were several instances where donors, including widows, wer ...Read More >
Nashik: Deputy CM Eknath Shinde's Jalgaon-Mumbai chartered flight was grounded on Friday evening after the pilot's flying-hour restrictions kicked in, but officials said special permission was secured for him to operate the flight after a kidney transplant patient sought help to reach a Mumbai hospital before midnight, reports Abhilash Botekar.Though she made it, the transplant was postponed because of organ unavailability, following which she returned by road with her husband.Shinde, attending a religious event, was delayed beyond the scheduled 7.15pm departure, leading to the pilot's hours r ...Read More >
Mumbai, Aug 4 (SocialNews.XYZ) In a bid to increase organ donation in Maharashtra and give new life to patients awaiting transplants, the state government has launched the Organ Donation Fortnight with a range of awareness initiatives. Public Health and Family Welfare Minister Prakash Abitkar took the lead by personally filling out the organ donation form and taking a pledge, thus formally inaugurating the campaign. He urged citizens across the state to join the campaign and pledge to donate organs. The Angdaan Jeevandaan Sanjeevani Abhiyan (Organ Donation - A Gift of Life Campaign) is being ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar: State govt on Wednesday conferred 'Suraj Samman' on 24 organ donors posthumously on the occasion of Organ Donation Day. A cash reward of Rs 5 lakh each was received by family members of the awardees.Health minister Mukesh Mahaling presented the awards after paying homage to the organ donors and their immediate family members. "Enlivening others in the aftermath of one's death through organ donation is a higher order of noble acts," he added.Mahaling said that because of the noble acts of the family of the donors, Odisha was honoured at the national level as an emerging state in or ...Read More >
New Delhi: Protest at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) against a recently announced fee hike, the long-standing suspension of students' union elections and calls for administrative accountability have entered their sixth day, with students boycotting classes and staging sit-ins at the Bab-e-Syed gate (the iconic entrance of the varsity). The fee structure for different courses has witnessed a sharp revision. Students say the hike ranges from 25% to over 60% across various programmes. Many claim they first learned of the revised fees only while trying to pay through the university's online ...Read More >
Kanpur: Ghaziabad police have arrested two more suspects in the illegal kidney trade and transplant racket that used a Telegram group to operate. The two men, Kuldeep Singh Raghav and Rajesh Kumar, were OT in-charges at different hospitals, and police are now tracking their third associate, a doctor.Dr Rohit, who ran the kidney trade racket, used to provide Rs 40,000-40,000 and flight tickets for each transplant to these people. On the day of the transplant, eight people arrived at Ahuja Hospital in Keshavpuram, of whom three came from Ghaziabad and five from Lucknow. Teams have been deployed ...Read More >
Kanpur: Kanpur police have revealed that a video of Punjab victim Manjinder -- duped of Rs 43 lakh in a kidney racket -- was recovered from the mobile phone of accused Shivam Agrawal in the city's kidney scandal case.Manjinder, a resident of Tarn Taran in Amritsar, alleged that Ahuja Hospital operators Dr Surjit Ahuja, Dr Preeti Ahuja and four other persons took Rs 43 lakh from him in the name of providing a kidney, but his transplant was never carried out. He raised the amount by taking loans.According to the video from Ahuja Hospital located in Maswanpur, Manjinder's kidney was damaged, and ...Read More >
Mumbai, May 29 (UNI) The police on Thursday arrested Dr Ajay Taware, the former medical superintendent of Sassoon General Hospital, in an alleged kidney transplant racket at a prominent private hospital in Pune. Dr Taware, who is already in custody at Yerwada Central Jail in a separate case involving alleged tampering of blood samples in the high-profile Pune Porsche crash, was taken into custody by the city crime branch for his suspected role in the 2022 kidney transplant scam at Ruby Hall Clinic. According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Nikhil Pingale, Dr Taware will be produced ...Read More >
New Delhi: Traffic in central Delhi will be affected on Thursday as the traffic police has issued an advisory due to the Janmashtami and Tazia processions.According to police, the traffic movement in Paharganj is likely to be affected from 1.30pm in view of the shobha yatra for Janmashtami and the Tazia procession.The Janmashtami procession will start from Mandir Shri Banke Bihari Ji in Paharganj's Sangatrasan Bazar and pass through Desh Bandhu Gupta Road, Chuna Mandi, Main Bazar, Munja Chowk and Arakashan Road. The Tazia procession will start from Ajmeri Gate and proceed through Pul Paharganj ...Read More >
KOCHI: Biljith Biju and Isaac George, two youngsters who were declared brain dead last week, have, through organ donation, served a purpose beyond saving lives -- raising awareness of the importance of their life-affirming acts of eternal kindness. And, this has reflected in the number of organ-donation pledges made in the state on Friday and Saturday. On September 13, 191 people pledged to donate organs after their death. The number was 193 on September 12. "Factors like acceptance and the honour donors and their families receive, and the improved quality of life of recipients have motivate ...Read More >
Chennai: A ground-breaking study published in The Lancet, one of the world's most prestigious medical journals, has revealed a shocking and direct link between prolonged sun exposure and a high prevalence of kidney disease among farmers in Tamil Nadu. The research indicates that working directly under the sun, leading to chronic dehydration, is a primary cause of kidney damage, independent of traditional risk factors like diabetes or hypertension. The study, which has sent ripples through the agricultural and medical communities, found that 5.13 percent of the surveyed farmers in the state ha ...Read More >
Pune: Hospitals in Pune have started reporting an increase in dengue cases among children following recent heavy rainfall and intermittent showers. Conditions are now ripe for mosquito breeding, experts said, as they warned citizens to ensure there's no waterlogging or stagnant pools near homes and offices. "Dengue is typically seen first in children as they often play outside," said Dr Sagar Lad, a senior neonatologist and pediatric intensivist at Jehangir Hospital and Sahyadri Hospital, Shastrinagar. Dr Lad said he's seen at least three children admitted for dengue this week, with all of the ...Read More >
Vijayawada: The NSS Unit of Siddhartha Academy of Higher Education (Deemed to be University), here organised an organ donation awareness programme in collaboration with Manipal Hospital and Red FM on the occasion of Organ Donation Day on Wednesday. The programme was aimed to sensitise students, faculty, and staff about the vital role of organ donation in saving lives. Registrar Dr M Ravichand appreciated the noble cause of organ donation, noting that by pledging their organs, individuals can offer hope and grant a new lease of life to those in need. Dean of Admissions Dr GSN Swami highlighte ...Read More >
Kanpur: Police on Tuesday claimed to have uncovered an alleged illegal kidney transplant racket operating through private hospitals in the city and arrested six people, including a doctor couple, three other doctors and an ambulance operator.Commissioner of Police Raghubir Lal said the racket appeared to have links extending beyond Kanpur to Lucknow, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Nepal.Preliminary investigation suggests that around 40 to 50 kidney transplants may have been carried out through the network in different private hospitals in the city, he said.The arrests were made late Monday night a ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Despite India making progress in organ transplantation, and being a sought-after transplant tourism destination for patients from abroad, the country still faces challenges in achieving equitable access for all its citizens, especially those living in remote areas, said a latest Lancet study. The study stressed that India needs stronger government investment, better data collection, improved public sector capacity, and policies to reduce financial and geographic barriers. India, placed in Category 4 along with South Africa, witnesses most transplants in private hospitals concentrat ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: In a major medical breakthrough, a city hospital has successfully performed the living donor liver transplant in combination with double heart valve surgery. The rare and high-risk procedure was conducted on a 55-year-old woman from Kyrgyzstan suffering from end-stage autoimmune liver disease and severe dysfunction in both the mitral and tricuspid heart valves. The patient, Anara M, sought treatment at Paras Health, Gurugram, on February 25, after years of hospitalisation. The pre-su ...Read More >
Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on Monday that his administration will establish a fund to finance organ transplants and other medical treatments exceeding Rs 5 lakh. Fadnavis mentioned at a meeting of the governing council of the State Health Assurance Society that the program will broaden the coverage of health insurance schemes. He instructed the state medical education and drugs department to develop a detailed policy for offering inclusive cancer treatment services throughout the state. Fadnavis led a meeting in which he emphasized the necessity of creating ...Read More >