UAE passes organ transplant law

Wednesday, Sep 14, 2016

Abu Dhabi: A law allowing organ transplants comes into force in March next year, providing huge relief to patients on organ donation waiting lists across the UAE.

The organ transplant law was decreed by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan last month. It takes effect six months after being published in the official gazette.

“The new law regulates transplantation of human organs and tissue, which will save lives and restore essential functions in otherwise untreatable cases,” Dr Ameen Al Amiri, assistant undersecretary at the Ministry of Health and Prevention for Public Health Policy and Licensing, told Gulf News yesterday.

Dr Al Amiri noted that the law provides a clear definition of death in keeping with fatwas (Islamic rulings) given by councils of senior scholars in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait and other Islamic nations.

The law prohibits the sale of human organs, tissue, or other body parts for transplantation. It also bans unlicensed advertising and funding of transplantation procedures if these organs are sold.

In April, the findings of a national survey on organ transplants presented at a forum held at the Mohammad Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU) showed that there are more than 2,000 kidney patients on dialysis in the UAE on a waiting list for kidney transplants alone.

Titled National Survey on Organ Donation and Transplant, the survey conducted by MBRU covered 500 respondents, comprising citizens and expatriates above 18 years of age.

The survey was conducted to study public awareness, beliefs and attitudes towards organ donation and transplants. Nearly 68 per cent of the respondents said they were ready to donate in the event they became brain-dead, which showed that the country was ready for deceased organ transplants.

Organs that can be transplanted include the heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas, intestine and thymus. Tissues include bones, tendons, cornea, skin, heart valves, nerves and veins.

Worldwide, kidneys are the most commonly transplanted organs, followed by the liver and heart. Cornea and musculoskeletal grafts are the most commonly transplanted tissues; these outnumber organ transplants by more than tenfold.

The Cabinet will set up a national centre for preservation and transplantation of organs and tissues.

Committees at the national centre will study cases of patients who need organ or tissue transplant and submit recommendations.

This law annuls Federal Law No 15 of 1993 concerning human organ transplantation.

Hospitals must adjust their legal status within a year from March next year. The grace period may be extended for a similar period by the Cabinet on request from the Minister of Health and Prevention.

Who can donate

Under the law, donation of organs and tissues can only be made by a legally competent person. “Donation by living donors is restricted to relatives within the fourth degree and couples married for at least two years.”

The law, however, permits donation of bone marrow from minors, or legally incompetent persons, provided that the marrow is transplanted in parents, siblings or children of the donor.

Written consent from the donor’s guardian is required in this case.

People can record their decision of becoming an organ and tissue donor after death on the Emirates Identity Card or any other documents. They can also unconditionally backtrack on their decision at any time.

Consent of a resident relative of the donor who died but did not register his/her wish to donate organ or tissue is required.

No organ or tissue can be removed from the deceased in the case of clear rejection of the same while a person is alive.

A donor may change his/her mind before removing an organ, a part of it or a tissue, but may not recover a donated organ once it is removed in accordance with this law.

The identity of both the donor and recipient must remain confidential by law.

Penalties

Surgeons who extract organs or tissues by force or fraud will face life imprisonment and at least a Dh20 million fine if the surgery leads to the death or complete disability of the person whose organ or tissue is removed.

The court may also order blacklisting an offending medical practitioner for up to three years, confiscating money and medical equipment used in the crime and shutting down the hospital or a ward of it where the crime is committed for not less than two months and not more than a year. The closure will be for good in the case of recurrence.

The penalty will be a prison term of not less than five years and not more than seven years, a fine ranging from Dh500,000 to Dh3 million for businesses which trade or act as an intermediary in selling of an organ or tissue.

A person who sells, buys, offers for sale or acts as an intermediary in selling a human organ or tissue will face a prison term and a fine ranging from Dh30,000 to Dh100,000.

Doctors performing organ or tissue transplantation while knowing the surgery involves commercial trade of organs or tissues will face a prison term of not less than six months, a fine of up to Dh1 million, or both.

Performing transplantation of organ or tissues outside licensed hospitals will carry a prison term of not less than a year, a fine of not less than Dh1 million or both.

Disclosing the identity of the donor or the recipient will incur a prison term of not less than six months, a fine of up to Dh50,000 or both.

A pardon may be granted to people who inform authorities before committing the crime. The court may also grant pardon if the crime is reported to the authorities before investigation starts. The penalties may be commuted if offenders facilitate arresting accomplices during investigation or trial.

by Samir Salama Associate Editor