A draft law regulating organ transplants is edging close to the statute books, reports Reem Leila The People's Assembly (PA) Legislative and Health Committees have signed off a draft law to regulate organ transplant operations after almost two years of parliamentary discussion. The PA finally agreed the draft on 6 December and sent it to the Shura Council for further deliberations. The new draft will legalise all types of organ transplant operations, to be performed in public hospitals affiliated to the Health Ministry. At the end of the session, attended by Minister of Health Hatem El-Gabali, PA Speaker Fathi Sorour declared that the draft would be forwarded to the Shura Council even though this is not a constitutional requirement. The move, said Sorour, came at the behest of President Hosni Mubarak who wanted the input of the Shura Council because of the sensitivity of the topic. After the Shura Council has its say the draft law will be put to the vote. Sorour has allocated a month for Shura Council deliberations. The main point of contention during the committee stage focussed on the legal definition of death. Many MPs argued that brain death and cardiac arrest must have both occurred before a patient can be pronounced dead while the medical profession insists only the former is necessary. The draft law leaves the final decision to a panel of three experts who will examine each case separately. The Higher Committee for Organ Transplants will appoint the experts, in conjunction with the Health Ministry. Muslim Brotherhood MP Hisham El-Qadi, who attended the discussions, argues that "the opinion of the Islamic Research Centre (IRC), which states that death is the cessation of all bodily functions, the brain, the heart and everything else, must be applied", while the final draft of the law states it is the cessation of brain functions that constitutes death. Removal of organs before the panel has issued a ruling will be treated as first-degree murder and could carry a capital sentence. The law also stipulates that donations be restricted to family members up to the fourth degree, and criminalises the sale of organs. "Operations will be processed according to priority, with a specialised committee assessing the order," says El-Gabali. The new legislation, he continued, is "essential to end organ tourism in Egypt and to regulate organ transplants to benefit those who need them most not those who can pay." The religious debate in Islamic countries around organ transplants has been contentious. Currently 18 Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia, allow organ donations. Egypt's organ transplant law has long been delayed by arguments over how to define the moment of death. Muslim Brotherhood MP Akram El-Shaer, a member of the Health Committee, opposed the draft. According to El-Shaer, "Sheikh Abdel-Aziz Bin Baz, former grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, issued a fatwa in Saudi Arabia in 1986, indicating that organ donation is not against Sharia, yet when he learned from doctors that the heart of the person from whom the organs are taken must be still beating, he revoked his fatwa." Head of the Doctors' Syndicate Hamdi El-Sayed responded to El-Shaer by stating that the new draft law stipulates that a special committee of three independent doctors, in fields unrelated to organ transplants, will also be asked to confirm the donor's status. "The government is very excited about the new law, and the ruling party will advise its members to approve the legislation," said El-Sayed. The Doctors' Syndicate began pressing for organ donations to be regulated eight years ago, partly in response to the explosion in organ trafficking. El-Sayed argues that "procedures surrounding establishing consent should not be made too strict." The draft law's definition of death was based on the fatwa issued by the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar Mohamed Sayed Tantawi who in 1997 declared organ donation permissible. Tantawi has proclaimed his willingness to donate his own organs to any needy patient. The draft law penalises doctors who perform illegal organ transplants. They could face up to 15 years in jail once the law is passed. The State Council approved the new organ transplant draft law in May, referring it to the Ministry of Health. The ministry then sent the draft to the PA for debate and final approval. When discussions reached a deadlock, the draft was sent back to the Shura Council. Sorour excluded the Religious Affairs Committee from discussions of the draft.
