At a moment when the need for kidney transplants is much larger than the availability of organs from deceased donors, Gujarat has quietly developed a model that not only gives hope but also a roadmap for the whole of India.

The wait from registration to transplant is usually very long, depending on various factors like blood type compatibility and other medical issues. Gujarat has made this wait much shorter by encouraging the use of swap (paired) kidney transplants. The Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre (IKDRC) in Ahmedabad reported that 86 out of 302 living donor transplants in 2025 were done through swap matches.

According to Dr. Vivek Kute from IKDRC, specialized algorithms are capable of finding suitable matches by matching the profiles of the donors and the recipients together. Once the informed consent has been obtained from all the parties, transplant chains are formed and carried out. This method has made it possible to reach more people in need while still putting ethical safeguards in place.

Gujarat has performed a total of 569 swap transplants since 2000. The experts believe that implementation of the national software, which is now provided to the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO), could be a way to amplify equity and fairness in organ transplantation across India, as it is the case with the Gujarat's although transparent, technology-driven approach.