Negative/Opposition

The Filipino Society of Nephrology, whose members include renal experts, claims that the Philippines is one of
the world's "hot spots" for human organ trafficking.
More than 400 kidney transplants from local donors to foreign recipients were carried out between 2002 and
2005, when a 10% cap for transplants to foreigners was meant to have been imposed, according to society
president Lyn Gomez.
Although she went on to say that "incomplete reporting from several hospitals" meant that the true number of
procedures was probably significantly higher. According to data from the government's Renal Disease
Management Program, 24 hospitals in the Philippines performed a total of 436 kidney transplants from
unrelated, living donors in 2006. There were 36 transplants from deceased donors within the same time period.
Amihan Abueva, a Manila-based advocate against human trafficking, said that although selling or exporting
human organs is illegal in the Philippines with jail terms of at least 20 years and high penalties, few traffickers
have been brought to justice.
The DOH of the Philippines reminded the public that selling kidneys and other internal organs is dangerous and
illegal, DOH Officer-in-Charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that the DOH opposes living organ
donations that are driven by financial rewards from organ recipients who are unrelated to the donor. This
system puts both the donor and the recipient at risk of future harm. She claimed that the DOH only promotes
organ donation for transplantation from deceased family members who have been legally and medically
determined to be brain dead. In addition, Vergeire referenced Republic Act No. 7170, generally known as the
Organ Donation Act of 1991, as revised by Republic Act No. 7885, which permits donors who have been
deemed brain dead to donate their organs and tissues. In addition to human tissues including eye tissues
(corneas, sclera, etc.), bones, skin, and blood vessels, human transplantable organs include the kidneys, liver,
lungs, heart, intestines, and pancreas.

The Philippines' "Organ Donation Act of 1991" updates the "1949 Act to legalize permissions to use human
organs." Under the new legislation, each individual can donate all or any part of his body by way of a legacy
or will. The members of the family may also authorize such a donation in the absence of contrary intentions by
the decedent. Donations are only valid when made for therapy, research, or medical education. International
sharing of organs is recognized but subject to approval by the Department of Health. Regulations are about to
be formulated in order to implement the Act, which will be largely publicized to encourage donations.

The failure of the Philippine Organ Donation and Transplantation Program (PODTP) to oversee the
implementation of the Philippine Network for Organ Sharing (PHILNOS) has placed thousands of Filipinos in
need of transplants in great danger. PHILNOS is tasked with implementing a system of timely referral and
processing of potentially multiple organ donors, equitable allocation, and efficient procurement and
transplantation of organs from them.
It is directed to increase awareness and acceptance of deceased organ donation and transplantation,
increase the number of deceased donors, promote the ethical practice of deceased organ donation and
transplantation, maintain a national waiting list of transplant candidates and a national registry of transplant
patients, and make policy recommendations that may become the basis for legislation pertaining to the
deceased donation program. Rodriguez said a report from the Philippine Renal Disease Registry (PRDR)
revealed that 10,000 Filipinos develop end-stage renal disease annually, half of whom are eligible for a kidney
transplant. Out of the 5,000 patients with end-stage renal disease eligible for a kidney transplant, less than 10
percent actually have a transplant because of insufficient organ supply or financial constraints.
Likewise, a PRDR report in 2009 showed that 95.5 percent (639 out of 669) of the country's kidney transplants
came from living donors, while 4.5 percent (30 out of 669) came from deceased or brain-dead donors.
The same report added that 70 percent (448 donors) came from living, non-related donors, compared to 30
percent (191 donors), which came from living-related donors.