FLASHBACK: Law to regulate organ donations will be enacted soon - Nsiah Asare

This story was first published by GhanaWeb on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, but in the wake of the announcement by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) that it will support kidney patients across the country with their dialysis sessions, at selected health facilities, we bring back this story as a reflection on the discussion.

The government's initiative to legalize organ donations is set to be enacted by the end of this year.

The Presidential Advisor on Health, Dr. Anthony Nsiah Asare, highlighted that the law will oversee organ transplants and procedures, citinewsroom.com reports.

This is in response to Ghana's increasing calls for facilitating organ donations to save lives.

Dr. Nsiah Asare emphasized the government's dedication to fast-tracking the law's passage.

He revealed that, a draft has been submitted to the Ministry of Health by a consortium of healthcare professionals recommending tissue and organ transplant initiatives.

The presented law aims to regulate different facets of organ donation as well as the donation of vital organs such as eyes, hearts, and kidneys in the event of accidents or fatalities.

Dr. Nsiah Asare emphasised that parliamentary endorsement is crucial to ensure legal clarity in the organ donation and transplantation processes.

“There is a draft document which has been sent to the Ministry of Health by a group of health professionals who have interest in tissue and organ transplant. So, there should be tissue organ donation and transplant law so that people can donate, for example, their eyes for cornea transplant," he stated.

The parliamentary health adviser said, “They can donate their heart, they can donate their kidneys or whatever if they have an accident or in case of accident or in case of death. We should have a law passed by Parliament, to back it so that there will be no legal issues of organ donation and transplantation. And this is what we are working together with the Ghana Health Service.”

Ghana’s leading digital news platform, GhanaWeb, in conjunction with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, is embarking on an aggressive campaign which is geared towards ensuring that parliament passes comprehensive legislation to guide organ harvesting, organ donation, and organ transplantation in the country.