Flashback: Law regulating organ donation will soon come into force

Presidential Health Adviser, Dr Anthony Nsiah Asare

This article was first published on GhanaWeb on Wednesday, March 20th, 2024, but we revisit it to reflect the debate following the announcement by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) that it will support dialysis sessions for kidney patients across the country at selected health facilities.

The government's initiative to legalise organ donation is due to come into force by the end of this year.

According to a report by citinewsroom.com, the Presidential Health Adviser, Dr Anthony Nsiah Asare, stressed that the law oversees organ transplants and surgeries.

This comes in response to growing calls in Ghana to promote organ donation to save lives.

Dr Nsia Asare stressed that government is committed to fast-tracking the passage of the bill.

He revealed that a draft document recommending tissue and organ transplantation efforts had been submitted to the Ministry of Health by a coalition of medical professionals.

The proposed legislation aims to regulate various aspects 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 stressed that parliamentary approval was essential to ensure legal clarity in the process of organ donation and transplantation.

“There is a draft document that has been sent to the Ministry of Health by a group of medical professionals interested in tissue and organ transplantation. So we need a law on tissue organ donation and transplantation so that people can donate their eyes for cornea transplants, for example,” he said.

“In case of accidents or death, people can donate their hearts, kidneys etc. We need to get a bill passed in Parliament so that there are no legal issues around organ donation and transplantation. This is what we are working on in partnership with the Ghana Health Service,” the parliamentary health adviser said.

GhanaWeb, a leading digital news platform in Ghana, in partnership with Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, has embarked on an aggressive campaign aimed at getting Parliament to pass a comprehensive law guiding organ harvesting, organ donation and transplantation in the country.