DOJ chief, kidney recipient, wants organ trafficking outlawed

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez wants to criminalize the sale of human organ for purely financial gain but saw nothing wrong with donating, having himself been the recipient of a kidney donation. "Selling is not wrong per se," Gonzalez told reporters in an interview. "It's the ethical aspect of that that is wrong. If you are giving it for the purpose of selling, you make it as if it's a commodity." Gonzalez got an kidney transplant in August 2007, courtesy of a donation by his driver Felicito Gunay. "If you are selling, for example your kidney, for the purpose of helping a relative or close friend, there is nothing wrong with that," Gonzalez said. "Donation is okay, it's the commercialization that is wrong," he said. The issue got the attention of media, who reported that it was becoming more common for poor people and prisoners to sell their kidneys and other organs for paltry sums to syndicates catering mostly to foreign clients. The Philippines has Republic Act 7170, or the Organ Donation Act of 1991, regulating the act of donation. But the other law – Republic Act 9280 or the Human Trafficking Act – is not enough to cover organ trafficking, according to Gonzalez. Separate implementing rules and regulations on organ trafficking will have to emanate from the justice department, which will draft said rules, according to Gonzalez. The Department of Health (DOH) also wants such a law passed to criminalize organ trafficking by unscrupulous traders who serve as middlemen by finding donors for rich clientele in need of organs. Gonzalez said, however, the DOH has not yet coordinated with his office on the issue. - GMANews.TV