ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary committee was informed that one person’s posthumous organ donation can save the lives of 27 people, however, lack of awareness prevents Pakistanis from donating their organs after death.

MNA Kishwer Zehra told colleagues that she has decided to donate her organs after death and will also be moving ‘The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Bill’ to raise awareness about organ donation in Pakistan.

Ms Zehra, while briefing members of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat, said that unfortunately there was lack of awareness about how posthumous organ donation can save lives.

Many Pakistanis do not sign up for posthumous organ donation and a thriving organ black market exists which poses a threat to the lives of underprivileged members of society who may be tempted into selling organs during their lives. Raising awareness about posthumous organ donation to convince more people to sign up could help tackle the problem of illegal organ trade.

Sri Lanka is one of the many countries in the world where posthumous organ donation is common and over 5,000 eyes are donated by Sri Lanka to Pakistan, each year.

Ms Zehra told members of the standing committee that a majority of people don’t even know how to donate organs.

“A question should be included in the application form for the Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) and driving licence asking if an applicant wants to donate his/her organs after death,” she said.

“By asking this question, more people will begin donating organs and those who are unaware of posthumous donation will know about it,” she said.

MNA Moulvi Agha Muhammad, from JUI-F, objected to the bill and said organ donation has never been allowed in Islam.

“Body organs belong to God and they should be buried along with the dead body,” he said.

However, his views were not shared by a majority of the MNAs who said organ donation could resolve many health problems.

MNA Retired Major Tahir Iqbal said the Quran does not say anywhere that organs should not be donated. “People should be allowed to donate their organs because it could help so many people,” he said.

Ms Zehra informed the members that in 2008 Federal Shariat Court gave a verdict stating that organs can be donated to save lives.

Health Expert Dr Waseem Khawaja told Dawn not many Pakistanis can afford organ transplant so such legislation is a healthy step.

“However, legislation will not resolve the problem completely. Sometimes, family members refuse to allow organs to be removed so relatives should be convinced to contact the hospital after a donor dies and cooperate in removal of organs,” he said.

“Sometimes medical teams especially after postmortem face allegations that they have removed some organ of the body. Although it is a requirement to remove some portions of the organs to send for forensic tests,” he added.

He stressed the role of the media in increasing awareness among people so that such legislation may be accepted.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2015

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