Executive director and CEO of AIIMS Bhubaneswar, professor Ashutosh Biswas, on Monday announced that a regional centre of excellence for organ transplantation and artificial intelligence will be set up at the institute.
He made the announcement while attending a dissemination workshop-cum-regional continuing medical education (CME) programme on “Organ Transplantation and Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare”, organised by AIIMS Bhubaneswar in collaboration with the National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS).
The programme saw participation from over 300 doctors from Odisha, Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand, along with experts in organ transplantation and AI. Representatives from AIIMS Patna, Deoghar, Kalyani and Bhubaneswar attended, along with experts from IIT Bhubaneswar, PGIMER Chandigarh, NISER, IISER Berhampur and IGIMS Patna. National bodies such as ROTTO (Regional Organ and Tissue Transplantation Organisation) and SOTTO (State Organ and Tissue Transplantation Organisation) were also represented.
Addressing the inaugural session, PMO additional secretary Subhasish Panda highlighted AI’s transformative potential in organ transplantation, saying it could aid clinical decision-making through integration of large datasets.
Panda said India ranks third globally in organ transplantation, with around 20,000 procedures conducted last year. However, nearly 82 per cent of donations are from living donors, with women forming the largest donor group. He noted that most transplants occur in the private sector, affecting affordability.
NAMS president Dr Digambar Behera pointed to a wide demand-supply gap, stating that India requires nearly five lakh organs annually but meets only about three per cent of the demand.
The CME covered topics including ethical and legal challenges, institutional preparedness, antimicrobial resistance and the role of AI in healthcare.