BHUBANESWAR: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-Bhubaneswar will establish a regional centre of excellence for organ transplantation and artificial intelligence.

This was announced during the regional continuing medical education (CME) programme on ‘Organ Transplantation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Healthcare’ held on Monday.

Organised by AIIMS-Bhubaneswar in collaboration with the National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS), the CME and dissemination workshop witnessed participation of over 300 doctors from four states of Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand.

Experts in the fields of organ transplantation and AI in healthcare and experts from AIIMS-Patna, AIIMS-Deoghar and AIIMS-Kalyani also took part.

Addressing the CME, additional secretary in Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Subhasish Panda highlighted the transformative potential of AI in organ transplantation. “AI could be a way forward for organ transplant by integrating vast datasets and assisting specialists in making informed decisions. It can facilitate efficient donor-recipient matching using genetic, clinical and laboratory data, enable real-time tracking of organ availability, optimise transportation routes for faster delivery and improve decision-making through predictive analytics and dashboards,” he said.

He said India is the third leading country globally in organ transplantation, with approximately 20,000 transplants conducted last year. However, he pointed out that nearly 82 per cent of donations are from living donors. Women constitute the largest donor group. A significant proportion of transplants occur in the private sector, limiting affordability.

AIIMS-Bhubaneswar executive director and CEO Prof Ashutosh Biswas and NAMS president Dr Digambar Behera also spoke.