Belarus amends law on transplantation of human organs
In Europe, most of the EU member states respect the presumption of refusal as regards the transplantation of organs. It means that if a person or his/her relatives do not give their consent to transplantation, it will not take place. In Belarus, the legislation is based on the presumption of consent.
If there is no preliminary refusal by relatives or a donor, transplantation will take place by default. However, it is possible to refuse from removing donor’s organs. To do so, it is necessary to make a written statement. The European Radio for Belarus explores how to do it.
According to lawmaker Uladzimir Isayeu, the personal details of a person who has refused to become an organ’s donor will be entered into a special database.
“A special database will be created. Before removing an organ, doctors will check the database in order to find out whether this person refused from donating organs. In Belarus, if a person does not make a preliminary written refusal statement, he or she is potentially regarded as the one agreeing to become an organ’s donor,” he said.
Raman Karap, a lawmaker who co-authored the amendments, told the European Radio for Belarus that anyone can make a written statement to refuse from having their organs removed. The statement should be filed with any health agency or a relevant department at the local city halls.
This has been confirmed by the Ministry of Health, which also described the procedure for having such an application registered. The database is not yet there, but it has already been possible to file refusal.
“People need to come to their district clinic with their ID and write a statement. The chief doctor will check your personality and have your application registered. The statement is later processed through official channels and ends up at the National Center for Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues,” Igar Brouka, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health told our radio.
But when we called the hot line of the healthcare committee at the Minsk City Hall, we were told that the application should be registered by a notary office and always kept handy.
“You should have your refusal registered with a notary. You always need to keep this document handy. This is the procedure before we are computerized completely,” the hot line operator said.
It is quite the opposite in Europe where people are required to carry their consent for transplantation. Otherwise, it is forbidden.
Here is the comment from the Orthodox Church on the issue of transplantation.
“It is amoral to transplant organs without consent, of course. It is ok if a person agrees that in case anything happens to him or her, the body could be used for transplantation. It happens. But it should not be done without consent,” Orthodox Christian priest Aliaxandr Shymbalyou said.
Leanid Tkachou, a chief surgeon at the Clinical Hospital No 4’s kidney transplantation center in Minsk, has just finished an operation and agreed to comment on this issue to the European Radio for Belarus.
“We have made four surgeries over the past 36 hours. I have just come out of the main theater. We have already created a system of coordination (for transplantation). The doctor who coordinates transplantation has a legal right to contact the relatives of a donor. In this case, we would always receive a written consent from relatives to remove an organ,” he said.
After the amendments come into force, a public-awareness campaign will be launched, adds Leanid.
“We have repeatedly gone on TV to give true information about transplantation of organs in Belarus. We believe greatly in a high level of mentality of the Belarusians who in many cases give consent to removing organs from their relatives,” he said.
ERB’s file
Almost 700 patients require kidney transplantations and around 600 are in need of liver transplantation annually in Belarus. Only a dozen of kidney transplantation surgeries are carried out per year, with over 300 patients being on the waiting lists.
Lawmakers maintain the amendments will promote the development of transplantology in Belarus. The new legislation takes into account the experience of Spain which is the world leader by the number of transplantations (over 15000 annually).
In the view of Uladzimir Isayeu, the Spanish laws are more democratic as regards the healthcare sector. That’s why many of Spanish provisions were used in the Belarus’s law.
Earlier, the law would allow transplantation when a natural death (heart failure) would be declared. Under the new amendments, organs can be transplanted without consent of relatives after an apparent death, i.e. when brain does not function anymore, yet it is still possible to maintain the cardiopulmonary system by life support.
