With a main purpose to make it more stringent for those involved in illegal commercial trading of organs and tissues, the government on Thursday approved key changes in the 15-year-old Organ Transplantation Act.

The Act will now provide severe punishment for doctors and touts engaged in illegal organ transplantation.

Doctors will get 10 years of imprisonment and touts seven years, as per the amendments approved.

Notably, under the current provisions of the Act, the maximum punishment is not more than five years.

For the first time, apart from organs and tissues, the Act will include bones, skin and tendons.

Moreover, the definition of relatives (who can donate the organ) has been expanded to include grandchildren and grandparents.

The amended Act also requires foreign relatives of an organ recipient to get clearance from health authorities who will determine whether the said person is a relative or not.

Speaking on this, Union Health Minister Gulam Nabi Azad said: "There were lot of flaws in the act. There was a need for amendment. We are happy that the cabinet has approved the proposal."

Azad added that the Act is aimed to regulate the removal, storage and transplantation of human organs for therapeutic purposes and to prevent commercial dealings in human organs.