New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS): The government will expand the network for procuring and distributing organs and tissues for transplant being carried out at the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said Monday.

"India faces shortage of organ donors. To meet the demand of organ transplantation, the government will expand the networking for procurement and distribution of organs in the country. The aim is to make aware and encourage people for organ donation," Vardhan said here.

The NOTTO has set up a call centre which will make people aware about organ donation across the country, Vardhan said while visiting the organisation located at Institute of Pathology building in the Safdarjung hospital.

"The NOTTO website will help the organ donors register from any part of the country. They need to go to any hospital and register themselves. The hospital will forward their registration to the NOTTO," he said.

According to the health ministry, about 200,000 people need a kidney and 100,000 need a liver every year in India. But only two to three percent of the demand for new organs is met.

"The shortage of the organ donors in India has also led to increase in the mortality rate in remote parts of the country," he added.