CAIRO: The People's Assembly (PA) said it will start discussing the draft organ transplant law next week. This comes just a few weeks before the end of the current parliamentary session. According to Dr Ahmed Diab, PA member in the health committee, the PA's constitutional and legislative committee will start discussing the draft law next week. Diab said that the law has to be finalized during this parliamentary round. Last January, the State Council approved the organ transplant draft law and referred it to the Ministry of Health that later sent it to the PA. The new law is expected to legalize all types of organ transplant operations, but only if performed in public hospitals. The law will set a definition for death, which was the highlight of debates arguing when a person can be pronounced dead and ready to donate organs. It is expected to assign an independent committee of three experts to unanimously confirm an organ donor's' death after conducting 14 specific tests. Both the donor and the recipient have to be Egyptian, the new law will stipulate, but they can be of different religions. The new law would also penalize doctors who perform illegal organ transplant operation. A maximum prison sentence of 15 years is expected to be included. Hamdy Al-Sayyed, chairman of Doctors' Syndicate, told Daily News Egypt that he is optimistic this time about the new law and expects it to be approved soon.
