DOH breaks silence, justifies kidney transplants

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday broke its silence and justified the exemptions that it granted to eight foreigners who have requested for kidney transplants in the country. The DOH, through undersecretary Mario Villaverde, said that the exemptions were approved before the imposition of the ban. He added that it was also based on "humanitarian considerations." The DOH had been receiving flak lately for its decision to exempt the eight from the organ transplant ban. Critics pointed out that on May 9, the DOH's National Transplant and Ethics Committee (NTEC) “affirmed" their support for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s policy that there should be no living Filipino kidney donors for foreigners. However, on May 12 - in a meeting chaired by Health Secretary Francisco Duque III - the Philippine Board of Organ Donation and Transplantation (PBODT) approved the "exemptions" which were recommended by the NTEC. The approval came despite the strong objections of the Philippine Society of Nephrology. Villaverde, who is the DOH officer-in-charge, explained that that the foreigners were already in waiting list of the national organ transplantation program even before the ban on foreign transplants was announced on April 29. He also said that the PBODT upheld the recommendation of the NTEC to exempt the eight foreigners since they followed all the medical and ethical procedures and they have already endured great personal sacrifice. “The foreigners, all Israelis, registered and have waited and followed due process at the time of their registration in December 2007," Villaverde said. The PBODT is composed of different sectors including the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC), the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC), the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI), the Philippine Urological Association (PUA), the Philippine Society of Transplant Surgeons (PSTS), the National Transplant and Ethics Committee (NTEC) and is chaired by Duque. Villaverde also said that the exemption of the Israeli patients was done following stringent ethical voluntary donation and organ allocation guidelines which are implemented and monitored by the NTEC and the Human Organ Preservation Effort (HOPE) Office under the NKTI. “We emphasize that all potential donors who volunteer at HOPE, including the donors of the eight Israeli patients, have undergone the required medical tests and have been evaluated on their physical and psychosocial fitness,"Villaverde said. "They and their families undergo a lengthy process of evaluation and orientation and they fully understand that selling and buying organs are strictly against the law," he added. Volunteers who volunteer at HOPE with clear motives of outright selling are automatically eliminated from the donor list according to Undersecretary Villaverde. “Hence, of about 20 patients who walk in at HOPE as potential donors, only about six are found eligible and three actually undergo nephrectomy," he said. The Kidney Foundation of the Philippines (KFP), a contracted NGO of the NKTI, is responsible for the post-nephrectomy medical care and follow–up of the donors. No monetary payment is permitted but expenses incurred by the living donor in terms of medical care directly resulting from the procedure, travel costs and lost wages are shouldered by KFP. Meanwhile, Secretary Duque who is attending the 61st World Health Assembly also came out with his statement. “The DOH continues to uphold the highest ethical standards in organ transplant. We condemn the illegal trafficking of human organs, here and internationally. And we affirm our seriousness to abide by the directive of President Arroyo to protect our poor and vulnerable sectors from the deplorable sale of organs by banning foreigners from accessing organ transplant services using Filipino living non-related donors (LNRDs),"he said. "We also continue to strengthen our system to implement and monitor a national organ donation and transplantation program that does not exploit anyone especially the poor," he added.- GMANews.TV