The Egyptian Parliament has not taken a decision for organ transplantation law yet, discussions continue in Egyptian parliament on amending the law on organ transplants.
Parliament has not reached a decision despite the discussions they have been having in recent days. The reforms involve the activation of two laws: the one made in 2010 prohibiting the sale of parts, which has not been fully implemented due to the reforms of 2011, and the other one applied in 1962 regarding the organization of eye banks.
The Health Committee of the Egyptian Parliament recommended that the Ministry of Health implement the system of the law on human organ transplantation that was introduced in 2010, in which Article 8 of the implementing law allows people to request in their will to be given their organ donation, after their death. MP Makram Radwan sparked controversy in Parliament when he submitted a request for information on amending the law on transplanting human organs.
“Egypt has fallen behind many countries that have implemented this law,” Radwan told Arab News. “Even though we have a policy on mutilation, it is not working. Organs cannot be transferred without prior authorization to protect doctors.
Regarding the law of the eye bank, this issue was raised at the request of the representative of Karim Badr Helmy. Badr told Arab News, “I am not calling for anything new. This is under the provisions of the Eye Banks Regulation Act 1962.
Helmy requested that all corneal banks be reorganized into hospitals authorized to establish them. He also suggested that the Minister of Health issues a decision that will define the procedure for transferring dead corneas to university hospitals and other hospitals authorized by other ministries to set up banks to store them.
Dr. Khaled Omran, one of the fatwa supervisors at Dar Al-Iftaa Egypt, told Arab News that organ donation is very useful, helps many patients and is considered a form of charity. Omran said that the donation takes place according to the legal conditions and approved by Dar Al-Iftaa.
The first is that the patient must die legally, not just in a hospital.
The second is that the gift must be based on a person’s opinion prescribed by doctors. The third condition is that the donation of organs related to the reproductive system should be prevented to avoid any suspicion of mixing lines.
