Uganda parliament approves bill allowing human organ donation

KAMPALA, Uganda

The Ugandan parliament passed a bill Thursday that will permit the donation and transplant of human organs.

The Uganda Human Organ Donation and Transplant Bill 2022, establishes a legal framework for organ, cell and tissue transplants in the East African nation.

Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng said the demand for organ transplants was high but there was no law in place.

The bill also establishes the Uganda Organ and Transplant Council to oversee and regulate organ and cell donation and transplants.

Parliamentary Health Committee Chairperson Charles Ayume said Uganda has a backlog of candidates for transplants.

Penalties

There has been a public outcry in Uganda about the sale of organs and tissues from unwilling donors.

Some Ugandan women recruited for domestic work in the Middle East have often cried about being duped into taking medical procedures where their kidneys are harvested against their will.

The bill imposes a life sentence for anyone who removes an organ, tissue, or cell from a living donor without consent or authorization and prohibits the sale of organs for financial gains.

It also has life imprisonment with no option to pay the defendant’s way out for child organ traffickers.