The government will soon introduce a bill in the Parliament to ban illegal business of kidneys and other human organs as the Health Ministry admits that Pakistan has become an international kidney sale point, official sources told Business Recorder.
"Incidents of kidney selling by poorest of the poor are on the rise, and patients from certain developed countries purchase organs for transplantation at local kidney centres," sources quoted from Health Ministry summary submitted to the Cabinet a couple of days back for reconsideration.
The draft bill on 'Transplantation of human organs and tissues 2006' was considered by the Cabinet on April 12 which decided that it should be reviewed by Law Ministry and resubmitted to it for approval, sources said.
The Law Ministry has vetted the bill draft and added some provisions concerning illegal sale and commercial dealings for human organs, prohibitions and penalties, offences by the companies, cognisance and trial courts, sources added.
The Health Ministry is of the view that absence of appropriate regulatory mechanism and unethical practices had emerged to the detriment of the patients, particularly the poor ones, and it has become imperative to put in place an effective regulatory mechanism to curb the menace, and exploitation, sources said.
They said the bill would provide for the regulation of removal, storage, sale and transplantation of human organs and tissues and only 'recognised institutions' and the 'recognised transplant surgeons or physicians will carry out transplant services'.
A 'monitoring authority' and 'evaluation committees' would regulate the transplant services as per prescribed rules. According to the draft bill, any living donor, not less than 18 years of age, would have the option to voluntarily donate any organ or tissue of his/her body to any other person, genetically and legally related, who is a close blood relative or non-blood relative ie husband, wife and relatives by marriage (in-laws).
Any donor, not less than 18 years of age, may, before his death, by a will in writing, donate any of his/her organs or tissues for transplantation.
However, any act performed in violation of these provisions would be an offence punishable up to 3 years imprisonment, a fine of up to Rs 300,000 and suspension of medical practitioner's licence for a period of 3 years.
Sources said that two private bills were moved in the Parliament, of which one was moved by Senator Dr Shahzad Wasim, which has been admitted by Senate and sent to the standing committee on Health for discussion and recommendations.
However, in the meeting held on October 23, 2004, Senate Standing Committee on Health decided to return the bill to the House with the recommendation that it could be adopted by the Ministry of Health and introduced afresh as an 'official bill'.
Another bill, on donation and transplantation of human organs, was moved by MNAs Asif Tauseef, Muhammad Hanif Abbasi, Anwar Ali Cheema and Tasneem Ahmed Quereshi, which was balloted as a private members' bill in the NA ballot held on October 7, 2004 for setting down in the orders of the day for the meeting of the National Assembly on October 12, 2004 but it was deferred for want of time. However, the final draft has been prepared in consultation with all stakeholders, including the World Health Organisation (WHO).