A brother offers his kidney. A family books flights. Then a hospital asks for a document nobody has heard of. Transplants for foreign patients in India are possible — but only within strict rules. Here they are, in plain words.
The rules for foreign patients
- Who can donate: a living Indian donor may give an organ to a foreign recipient only if they are a near relative. Most foreign patients therefore travel with a related donor from home.
- Proof of relationship: a senior official of your country’s embassy in India certifies the relationship on Form 21. If your country has no embassy in India, your government issues the certificate in the same format.
- Approval first: when the donor or recipient is a foreign national, the hospital’s authorisation committee must approve before any organ is removed or transplanted.
- Deceased-donor organs: foreign patients can be listed through their hospital, but are offered an organ only when no Indian patient is available.
We never arrange unrelated donors, and we walk away from anyone who offers to. It is illegal, and it harms people.
Documents to start gathering
- Passports for patient and donor, and proof of the family relationship (birth and marriage certificates).
- Medical reports for both — blood group, tissue typing if done, kidney or liver function.
- Form 21 certification from your embassy in India.
- Medical visas: one e-Medical visa for the patient, and e-Medical Attendant visas for the donor and family (official portal).
What it costs
| USA · total billed charges* | 446,800 |
|---|---|
| India · top of published range | 12,632 |
*Milliman 2025: US billed charges from 30 days before to 180 days after, including medicines — not like for like. India: CARE Hospitals published range ₹6.2–12 lakh, converted at ₹95 per US$.
How long you stay
Plan about six to eight weeks in India, including evaluation of both donor and recipient, the committee process, surgery and early follow-up. Your transplant team decides when you can go home.
Read our transplant guide and India’s medical visa explained.
Independent research. Figures are quoted from the official and published sources listed below, as they stood when we checked them (October 2026). BookMedTrip is an independent facilitator and is not affiliated with any government body, hospital, charity or organisation named here, and receives no commission from them. If anything here is out of date or inaccurate, please write to care@bookmedtrip.com and we will correct it.
Preguntas
Can a foreigner get a kidney transplant in India?
Yes, within the law. A living Indian donor may give only to a near relative; most foreign patients travel with a related donor, and a hospital authorisation committee must approve.
What is Form 21?
A certificate in which a senior embassy official of the foreign patient’s country certifies the donor–recipient relationship.
Can a foreign patient receive a deceased-donor organ?
They can be listed through their hospital, but are offered an organ only when no Indian patient is available.
Fuentes
- The Hitavada (PTI) — Health Ministry guidance on organ transplants for foreign nationals (5 Jul 2024)
- ThePrint — India performed a record 18,900 transplants in 2024
- Milliman — 2025 US organ and tissue transplant cost estimates
- CARE Hospitals — kidney transplant cost in India (published range)
- Indian e-Visa portal
