Gonoshasthaya Kendra founder Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury has urged the government to amend a few sections of the "Transplantation of Human Organs (Amendment) Bill, 2018," to include that anyone can voluntarily donate their organs to others besides blood relatives.
Dr Zafrullah said this at a press conference in Gonoshasthaya Nagar Hospital auditorium on Wednesday.
He added: “The law forces people to complete the approval and application procedure in Dhaka, which is inconvenient for people from rural areas. The government should form approval committees at the district level consisting of responsible citizens from each district.”
He also proposed the age limit of a healthy and live donor should be set at 90 years instead of 65.
He pointed out that the government is responsible for strict regulations which bars people from hassle free kidney transplants in the country.
“The donors should be rewarded with at least Tk5 lakh which is a common practice in Iran,” Dr Zafrullah said.
“The existing laws are restricting people from donating their organs willingly,” Dr Zafrullah added.
According to Section 2 (definition) of the law, any organ transplantable to the human body, including kidney, liver, bone, eye, heart, lung, and tissue can be transplanted after collection from human bodies with functional hearts or those that are active on life support.
Section 2 (b) and (d) state that only a ‘legal successor’ and ‘close relatives,’ can be donors.
He also urged the government to provide clear guidelines regarding post-kidney failure treatment and illegal exchange of organs for money.
Quoting a government study, Dr Zafrullah said that around 45,000 new patients are affected by kidney failure and according to his real life experience, 90% of dialysis patients become destitute within three years.
“People should be encouraged to pursue kidney transplants instead of dialysis treatment as the operation costs only Tk2 lakh in our country while many from the country spend as much as Tk30 lakh to Tk5 crore by getting kidney transplants frequently in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Singapore, and the USA," added Dr Zafrullah.
