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SINGAPORE : Singapore is amending its Human Organ Transplant Act (HOTA) to raise the number of cadaveric and living donor kidney transplants in the country.
Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan told Parliament on Monday that the changes will include removing the age limit on cadaveric donors, and could also allow financial compensation by third-parties to altruistic donors.
Currently only one-third of new kidney patients are suitable for transplants. Even then, only half of them will get their wish.
However, the Health Ministry feels the rate can still be further raised to 70 per cent in the medium term.
While Mr Khaw is not ruling out legalising the sale of organs, he said the bulk of kidney transplants must come from cadaveric and living donors. One way is to amend transplant laws to allow cadaveric donors over the age of 60.
Mr Khaw said: "Many countries, including Spain, do not set such an age limit. The suitability of the organ depends on its condition, rather than the age of the donor. The condition of the kidney can be determined by the transplant doctor and that should be the criterion for determining if an organ is suitable."
Responding to concerns raised, Mr Khaw said the life expectancy of recipients of these organs is unlikely to be affected.
Mr Khaw also wants to change the rules to allow a donor - whose tissue is incompatible with the intended recipient - to be matched with another person in a similar situation.
The process is fairly common in the United States and Europe, and Mr Khaw said his ministry will set up a live donor registry to facilitate this.
The ministry is also exploring how third-party organisations, such as charities and religious groups, can be allowed to compensate donors and their families after the transplants are completed - without having their actions being misconstrued as organ trading.
Mr Khaw explained: "Occasionally, I receive requests from some charities and religious bodies which wish to provide some compensation, in kind and in cash, for the organ donors and their families, to acknowledge their altruistic act. But they worry that this may be construed as organ-trading and they may be breaching the HOTA rules.
"My view is that we should encourage third parties, especially those from the charity and religious sector, to help promote altruistic organ donations, and that we should consider how they can be allowed to provide some financial compensation to the donors and their families after the transplants have taken place.
"My ministry will study whether such an idea is feasible, and if so, whether HOTA needs to be amended to facilitate its implementation."
Mr Khaw added that his ministry will study the Iranian model carefully, seeing that it is the only model of legalised organ trading available. He acknowledged that even then, a black market continues to exist.
However, he said that further study will help better address the issue of exploitation.
Citing an article by Professor Gary Becker, Professor of Economics and Sociology and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, he noted that the issue should also be analysed from a practical perspective.
Mr Khaw said: "On the part of my ministry, even as we take action against those involved in illicit organ trading and unscrupulously exploiting the desperate and the vulnerable, we will take a sympathetic approach to the plight of the exploited donors and the basic instinct of kidney failure patients to try to live." - CNA/ms
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