Government tables Bill to Regulate Donation of Body Organs

The Minister of Health, Jane Aceng has tabled the Uganda Human Organ Donation and Transplant Bill, 2021 for first reading. Aceng tabled the bill during the Tuesday plenary sitting chaired by Speaker Anita Among. The Bill was received and referred to the Committee on Health for scrutiny pursuant to Rule 129 of the Rules of Procedure.

The object of the Bill is to establish a legal framework for the regulation of organ, cell and tissue donation and transplantation in Uganda.

According to the Bill, Government aims at protecting the dignity and identity of every person and guarantee, without discrimination, respect for his or her integrity and other rights and fundamental freedoms with regard to donation and transplantation of organs, tissues and cells of human origin.

“Uganda does not have any law governing human organ donation and transplantation which is increasingly becoming an area of health care used to cure non communicable diseases that are rising rapidly. It is therefore imperative to enact an enabling law to address the existing challenges taking into account that healthcare is continuously evolving,” the Bill reads.

The Bill seeks to address the current lacuna that is existent in both the law and the health care in Uganda in relation to organ, cell and tissue donation and transplant system. Due to the vacuum in the law, there has been concern about the increase in the illicit trade in and trafficking of human organs, cells and tissue.

“There is therefore need to regulate organ, cell and tissue donation and transplantation in order to enforce Principle XX of the National objectives and Directive Principles of the State Policy of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda which provides that the State shall take all practical measures to ensure the provision of basic medical services to the population. This will protect Ugandans from being potential victims of organ, cell and tissue trafficking,” the Bill states.