HYDERABAD: India performed nearly 20,000 organ transplants in 2025, but with around 90,000 patients still on the waiting list for major organ transplants as of March 2026, the country needs greater public participation in organ donation, said Dr D. Nageshwar Reddy, chairman of AIG Hospitals, on the occasion of National Organ Donation Day on Monday. “One person donating organs can save up to seven lives. Highlighting the importance of deceased organ donation, he said only around 18 per cent of transplants in the country currently involve organs donated by deceased donors. The hospital observed National Organ Donation Day by felicitating families who had consented to donate the organs of their deceased loved ones. Specialists from the Departments of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care highlighted the importance of early identification of potential donors, certification of brain‑stem death, family counselling and coordinated organ retrieval in improving organ donation rates.