On March 23, 2024, MOHAN Foundation released the 'Handbook for Non-Transplant Organ Retrieval Centres (NTORC)/Human Organ Retrieval Centres (HORC)'. The handbook was released by Shri Sanjay Prakash, Managing Director, SBI Foundation at the inaugural ceremony of “Celebrating Diversity” - A Commonwealth Tribute to Life Conference.

Organ donation from brain dead deceased donors from non-transplant hospitals is less common in our country. The provision for NTORCs expands the scope of organ donation to smaller hospitals in cities and in smaller towns. These hospitals may not have transplant surgeons and other facilities to do transplant surgery, yet may have the required infrastructure and motivated medical professionals for identification, certification and maintenance of a brain-dead donor, along with removal and storage of organs / tissues to qualify as NTORC.

The resource manual delineates simplified and comprehensive procedures for hospital registration as an NTORC, along with guidelines for brain death identification, testing, certification, and grief counselling. This manual aims to provide hospitals with a clear understanding of the intricate processes involved, empowering them to consider registration as NTORC.