The government has revealed intentions to enact a law allowing organ donations by the year’s end.
The Presidential Advisor on Health, Dr. Anthony Nsiah Asare, stressed that the proposed legislation would not only permit organ donations but also regulate organ transplants and associated procedures.
This initiative responds to mounting calls within Ghana for measures to facilitate organ donations, which hold the potential to significantly bolster life-saving efforts.
Dr. Nsiah Asare underscored the government’s ongoing endeavors to fast-track the enactment of this legislation, noting the submission of a draft document to the Ministry of Health by a coalition of healthcare practitioners advocating for tissue and organ transplant initiatives.
The proposed legislation aims to govern various facets of organ donation, encompassing the provision for the donation of vital organs such as eyes, hearts, and kidneys in the event of accidents or fatalities.
Emphasizing the significance of parliamentary approval, Dr. Nsiah Asare stressed the necessity for legal clarity surrounding 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.
“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.”