KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 — The Ministry of Health (MoH) has established a transplant committee to monitor organ donations among living donors involving unrelated donor-recipient pairs or foreign donor-recipient pairs, following accusations of the existence of organ trafficking in the country.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the committee will carefully evaluate various aspects including medical background, mental health and socio-economic status of all parties in all transplant surgery applications so potential donors have a good support system and that their well-being is not affected after the surgery.
“Effective management of this is important to protect the rights of potential donors and to ensure organ donations do not involve coercion or trafficking elements,” he said in a statement here.
He stressed that the MoH does not support any individuals or organisations involved in illegal and unethical organ trafficking activities.
“In this regard, MoH will provide full cooperation to the authorities if necessary,” he said.
He said any claims regarding the existence of organ trafficking activities in the country must be taken seriously as it constitutes the exploitation of certain groups and goes against medical ethics.
“Any claims regarding the existence of activities related to organ sales must be taken seriously by all parties,” he said.
Dr Noor Hisham said if there is any activity involving the trafficking of people for the purpose of organ trafficking, it must be investigated under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007.
“If any individual or group has any information regarding these activities, they can come forward to MoH or report to the police,” he said.
He said the authorities can take action against any individual or organisation involved in human trafficking for the purpose of illegal organ transfer under the Act.
He also said Malaysia has signed The Declaration of Istanbul on Organ Trafficking and Transplant Tourism in 2008 which states that organs for transplantation must be allocated fairly to suitable recipients regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion, or social or financial status.
The declaration also emphasises the prohibition of the commercialisation of organ transplants as it targets the poor and less fortunate.
“Therefore, any practice targeting these individuals or groups as organ donors is seen as encouraging organ trafficking, transplant tourism, and commercialisation of transplants,” he said.
Dr Noor Hisham said MoH will continue to raise awareness of organ donation and educate the public on ethical organ donation in collaboration with relevant bodies and organisations.
He called on all Malaysians to pledge to be organ donors and to inform their family members of their intention to become donors.
Information on organ donation and transplantation can be obtained from the National Transplant Resource Centre at 1800-88-9080 or through email [email protected].
