Telangana Assembly adopts THOTA, passes Municipalities, Panchayat Raj Amendment Bills

The Act regulates removal, storage, and transplantation of human organs and tissues for therapeutic purposes and prevents commercial dealings

Hyderabad: The Telangana Assembly passed a resolution adopting the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act (Central Act 42), 1994 and Rules, 1995, and Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues (Amendment) Act of 2011 (THOTA).

Health Minister C Damodar Raja Narasimha moved the resolution during the Budget session of the Assembly on Monday.

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The Act regulates the removal, storage, and transplantation of human organs and tissues for therapeutic purposes and prevents commercial dealings.

As per the 1995 regulations, only neurosurgeons and neurophysicians could declare a person brain-dead. As per the new regulations, a physician, surgeon, intensivist, and anaesthetist can also declare the same.

The Act also includes a government advisory committee for organ donation and transplantation.

The Act also enables sourcing organs donated in any other state, to be transplanted in Telangana. The State Assembly also passed the Telangana Municipalities (Amendment) Bill, 2025 and the Telangana Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2025 on Monday.

Both the amendment Bills were meant to merge, upgrade and create new local bodies, in the respective departments.