International organ transplantation center to be established in Egypt
Staff Writer |
Ministry of Health and Population will establish the biggest international organ transplantation center in the Middle East at El-Sheikh Zayed Al-Nahyan Hospital, Cairo.
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The official said that a first advanced research center for liver, bone marrow and kidney transplantation will be set up based on international systems to put an end to organ trafficking in Egypt. He stated that the center will create a bank for donated organs from deceased donors.
Health Minister Ahmed Emad el-Din recently formed a high committee to prepare a report on the El-Sheikh Zayed Al-Nahyan Hospital’s potential to host the center in the futer, according to the official.
He added that the center will finance those who are least able to afford the transplantation surgery through a fund of which the capital exceeds LE 2 million.
In this regard, Head of the Central Administration for Free Treatment and Licenses Ali Mahrous, the rapporteur of the high committee, said that Din seeks to regulate organ and tissue transplants particularly from deceased to living patients.
Moreover, member of the health insurance draft committee Alaa Ghanam remarked that Egypt will subject organ transplantation centers in the coming period to state control in order to prevent organ trafficking in Egypt.
According to a report issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2010, Egypt was described as a hub for organ trafficking and is the top country for organ transplants in the Middle East.
If the illegal act is committed on a living person, the medical practitioner would be imprisoned for no more than 10 years. If the patient dies, the penalty rises to life imprisonment and includes a fine between LE 500,000 and LE 1 million.
A religious debate have raised regarding the organ transplantation as some religious edicts and fatwas prohibit organ transplantation on the ground that Islam does not allow Muslims to give up their organs by selling or donating whether during the lifetime or after death.
However, the Dar Al-Iftaa (Fatwa Council) has allowed for organ transplants from living or dead donors in cases where they are meant to save the life of a patient at a chronic state and on condition that such transplants are legal, and should not include any financial benefit for the donor, his family or his heirs in cases where the donor is deceased. ■