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Wednesday, April 30, 2008
DOH suspends kidney transplants in 14 hospitals
MANILA -- The Department of Health (DOH) has suspended kidney transplant operations of at least 14 hospitals in the country after breaching the 10 percent limit on operations conducted to foreigners.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the government decided to impose a "total ban" on foreign transplants since majority of those who benefited from the kidney transplant are foreigners, adding that this also resulted in the rampant sale of organs among Filipinos.
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"The Philippine government asserts its mandate to protect the poorest and most vulnerable sectors of our society adhering to international ethical standards," Duque said.
According to him, the cost of transplant, if subsidized by the government, would be around P350,000 to P500,000, but it could even reach as high as P1 million to P2 million.
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This high price is also the reason that many Filipinos are being lured to sell their kidneys.
"You feast not just on poverty but you feast also on the ignorance (of the people)," said Duque, adding that he already instructed the National Center for Mental Health to post in the areas where organ selling is rampant the posters that would educate the public on the dangers of selling their organs.
Last month, the DOH revised Administrative Order (AO) 2008-004, also known as the Revised National Policy on Living Non-Related Donor and Transplantation and Its Implementing Structures Amending AO 124 issued in 2002, which calls for a moratorium on organ donation.
But the health secretary said they are amending it once more to incorporate the resolution passed by the board that orders the total ban on organ donation.
Duque further noted that the implementing rules and regulations (IRRs) would also be issued next month upon the completion of the public hearing.
"There has to be an effective enforcement in place and that is why one of the things the board did during its first meeting, its maiden meeting was to pass a resolution which will now be submitted to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prepare the IRR in support of the provisions in Republic Act (RA) 9208, which states that it is illegal for anyone to engage in the sale of human organ. So we need strict enforcement of law and I'm sure that will stop or lessen if not stop the illegal peddling of human organ," Duque said.
Nick Lutero, head of the DOH Legal Division Office, said of the 24 hospitals that were accredited to perform kidney transplant, eight were slapped with a cease and desist order (CDO) for violating the 10 percent cap in foreign transplant operations, while six others whose accreditation expired had been suspended. The remaining 10 are still being reviewed if they have committed the same violations.
He added that of the eight hospitals that were issued CDO, only one government institution was included in the list and the rest are private hospitals.
Among the hospitals that were issued CDO include Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, Cebu Doctors Hospital, Capitol Medical Center, Cardinal Santos Medical Center, Victor R. Potenciano Medical Center, Far Eastern University-NRMF, University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical center, and St. Francis Cabrini Medical Center.
A CDO meantime was also imposed against the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, St. Luke's Hospital, Quirino Memorial Medical Center, Capitol Medical Center, Philippine General Hospital, and Chinese General Hospital because of pending accreditation.
Ernie Vera, also of the DOH legal department, revealed that in 2006 alone, about 690 patients underwent kidney transplant in the country and about 63 percent are foreigners and only 37 percent are Filipinos.
"Our records in 2006, of the total 690 transplants, only five percent came from deceased donors," Vera said.
He added that majority of the foreigners that availed of the organ transplant in the country came from the Middle East.
Duque said they are looking at the possibility of banning even the local organ transplant, but this has to be decided upon by the board.
He added that the "DOH will also focus on the development of the deceased organ program and transplantation from living related donors". (MSN/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Bacolod. (April 30, 2008 issue)
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