Making profit from organ donation a no-no

Star: SEREMBAN: Organ donors are not allowed to make a profit as promoting or commercialising transplants is strictly prohibited.
However, a reasonable reimbursement for the donation process is allowed.
Under the Health Ministry’s Unrelated Living Organ Donation: Policy and Procedures, a Malaysian organ donor is also entitled to free admission to a first class ward for the surgery. All hospital charges relating to the surgery will also be waived.
“Personnel in the public service who have donated their organs will be given unrecorded leave of up to 42 days to facilitate the surgery,” the ministry said.
Approval is needed from the ministry’s Unrelated Transplant Appro­val Committee for any procedure involving an unrelated living donor.
The committee, comprising bet­ween seven and 11 members, will evaluate and recommend if a transplant involving an unrelated living donor should be allowed.
The committee, including doctors, health personnel or anyone with knowledge about transplant ethics, will be appointed by the Health Ministry director-general for a period of three years.
“It shall be chaired by a doctor not actively involved in the field of transplantation, but who has sufficient knowledge about the matter,” it said.
An independent team, comprising at least a medical donor advocate, a psychiatrist and a medical social work officer, will also be appointed to evaluate prospective donors.