Move a major setback to the existing system Money for donors mooted

The proposal to give monetary benefits to organ donors is being widely debated in medical circles with some seeing it as a step which will dilute the existing law governing transplants and others stating that it would help overcome the shortage of donors. Monetary benefit or commercial exploitation of organs will be a major setback to the existing system which works purely on the involvement of first-degree relatives and cadaver organ donation volunteered by families.

The proposal to pay donors is set out in a policy document of the Union ministry of health and family welfare and states that a corpus fund must be created for the utilisation of transplant expenses. An amount must be set aside as benefit for the family of deceased donors. This incentive when provided by the state government will allow for more organ donations and help save lives, the ministry says.

A corpus fund of `1 lakh per year for a period of five years is being proposed for the families of cadaver donors. The proposal is that state departments must set aside funds for donors and transplants in their health schemes. Voluntary donations by recipients can be accepted and a part of the money must be given to the family of the organ donor.

Dr Pradeep Deshpande, member of the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Programme, explained, “Monetary benefit in transplant cases will only dilute the law. Agents will crop up and to deal with them at the hospital level will be very difficult.” The proposal has come in due to the huge waiting list in various states for donors, that is pressing the government to consider offering incentives. Iran has a scheme of incentives and the United Kingdom is planning to make it compulsory.

Dr A.G.K. Gokhale, senior heart transplant surgeon at Apollo Hospitals, said, “Most of the organ donations are from families of accident victims, and these are earning members from lower income groups. The families get affected and an incentive will help. The government can also opt to give a job to a family member. But they have to ensure that the systems do not have any middlemen.”