House bill amending human organ donation law now under Senate consideration

A House proposal to amend the country’s Human Organ Donation and Transplantation Program and provide penalties for its violation is already being considered by senators in the committee level.

House Bill 5538, or the proposed “Organ Donation Act” principally authored by Rep. Carol Jane Lopez (Party-list, YACAP), has been taken into consideration by the Senate committees on health and demography, and on finance when they approved its counterpart measure, Senate Bill 3221 last February 3, 2016 before the congressional adjournment.

In their committee report, the Senate committee on health and demography chaired by Sen. Teofisto L. Guingona III, and committee on health chaired by Sen. Loren B. Legarda jointly endorsed the approval of SB 3221, in substitution of SBs187, 666, 1058, 2840 and 3078, and taking into consideration House Bill 5538 and Senate P.S.R. (Simple Resolution) 546.

Both HB 5538 and SB 3221 seek to further amend Republic Act 7170, otherwise known as the “Organ Donation Act of 1991,” to strengthen the country’s Human Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Program and provide penalties for its violation.

Lopez said at the outset, RA 7170 authorizes the legacy or donation of all parts or part of a human body after death for specified purposes.

“The law recognizes that an individual has the option to become a hero, so to speak, via a will or other document he or she executed or through the decision of his or her next of kin. Hence a mechanism has been set up to legitimize the donation of organs to take effect after death,” said Lopez.

Lopez, however, asked how about living organ donation since there is no law, to date, passed by Congress addressing this concern.

“True, there is Republic Act 9208, otherwise known as the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, which punishes the exploitative removal or sale of organ as an act of trafficking. It thus raises the question: how about non-exploitative removal of organs? Thus, a law is necessary to determine precisely when is removal of organ considered exploitative or when it may be considered as a valid act of donation,” said Lopez.

Lopez said her proposal, in the higher interest of public health, primarily ensures that the availability of organs and tissues for donation, from living and willing donors, is carefully supervised and regulated.

“Supervision and regulation which include the grant of reasonable support to donors, to include medical care, or educational, economic or livelihood projects, or other forms of assistance to promote the well being of these donors,” said Lopez.

House Bill 5538, approved by the House on third reading on March 15, 2015, and subsequently transmitted to the Senate for concurrence, provides the Act covers all government and private hospitals, health facilities, organ recovery organizations, medical and allied medical practitioners or professionals, foundations and nongovernment organizations that are involved in organ and tissue transplantation in the country.

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The Act also covers organ donations for transplantation purposes from deceased and living donors.

It establishes the Philippine Organ Donation and Transplantation Program that will provide the overall direction and system of implementation of organ donation and transplantation in the country through the Philippine Organ Donation and Transplantation Board under the Department of Health (DOH).

It also establishes a Philippine Organ Donation and Transplantation Board to be composed of the following members: Secretary of Health, as Chairperson; DOH Undersecretary for Policy and Standard Development Team for Service Delivery, as Vice Chairperson; Chairperson of National Transplant Ethics Committee or representative; President of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) or representative; Representative of government transplant facilities appointed by the Secretary of Health; Representative of private transplant facilities appointed by the Secretary of Health; Representative of the professional societies involved in transplantation, including the Philippine Society of Transplant Surgeon, the Philippine Society of Nephrology, the Philippine Urology Association and the Transplant Society of the Philippines designated by the societies on a rotational basis for a term of two years; Chairperson of the Professional Regulation Commission or representative; Representative of inter-faith organizations; and Representative of NGOs involved in health advocacy, preferably on human organ donation.

The Board shall exercise the following functions: Serve as the overall implementing body of the organ donation and transplantation program in the country; Develop and implement policies on organ donation and transplantation within the framework of Philippine laws; Review and approve programs in support of a rational, ethical, accessible and equitable organ donation and transplantation program in the country; Approve the issuance of the certificate of accreditation of transplant facilities; Monitor compliance of transplant centers and organ recovery organizations with the policies prescribed by the Board; and Perform other functions as may be ordered by the Secretary of Health related to the primary functions of the Board.

The measure also establishes the Philippine Network for Organ Sharing (PhilNOS) under the Board to oversee and facilitate donation and organ transplantation involving deceased and living donors in the country, act as the central coordinating body to ensure that all organs from deceased and living donors are allocated according to established criteria, and remote organ donation from a deceased or living donor.

The Board, through its licensing and accreditation arm and the Bureau of Health Facilities and Services, shall establish accreditation criteria to determine the DOH-licensed hospitals that should be allowed to perform transplant operations.

The Board shall establish policies and guidelines to prevent organ trafficking and to ensure the safety of living donors and their eventual recipients in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

The Secretary of Health shall formulate guidelines to ensure that an organ recovery organization (ORO) is designated for each region and major hospitals in the country as well as in areas where transplant activity is concentrated.

All hospitals and medical institutions shall create an Ethics Committee to improve healthcare delivery and outcomes by helping to identify, analyze, and resolve ethical dilemmas as they emerge predominantly through consultation, education, and policy development. (30) rbb