EGYPT – Egypt has upheld its regulation on human organ transplantation, with an emphasis on deterrent penalties for the crime of violating the regulations and provisions for the life-saving medical procedure.
Following the inauguration of the new center for organ transplantation at the Nasser Institute Hospital, Egyptian officials have called for adherence to the laws regulating human organ transplantation.
The new center will offer comprehensive medical care to patients before and after transplant operations, alongside psychological support services after organ transplantation procedures.
It will serve as a national research center for liver, bone marrow, and kidney transplantation based on international systems in concerted efforts to end commercial organ trading and organ trafficking in Egypt.
The Center for organ transplantation at the Nasser Institute Hospital also has an automated database of organ transplantation, patients, and donors.
Based in Cairo, the transplant center is now the largest international organ transplantation center in the Middle East.
The launch of this new transplant center comes after the Parliament’s Legislative Committee approved amendments to Egypt’s Organ Transplant Law.
The Egyptian State Council revised a law regulating organ transplant operations, emphasizing harsher penalties for illegal or forced operations.
The Egyptian State Council established a maximum prison sentence and monetary penalty for anyone who transfers a human organ or part of it for the purpose of transplantation in violation of the articles of the law.
The monetary penalty for the offense is a fine between 500,000 Egyptian pounds (approximately US$16,183) and 1,000,000 Egyptian pounds (US$32,365).
The legislation also includes details regarding the transplantation of organs from living donors, particularly the penalty shall be imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten years.
If a person dies when their organs are removed, the penalty shall be life imprisonment and a fine of not less than EGP 500,000 (approx. US$16,183) and not more than EGP 1,000,000 (US$32,365).
It is unlawful for any person to perform any human organ transplant operation or assist in carrying out the surgical procedure outside licensed medical facilities.
The most prominent penalty for this criterion is temporary hard labor and a fine of EGP 1,000,000 (US$32,365) to EGP 2,000,000 (US$64,677).
If a donor or recipient dies during a transplant procedure taking place outside licensed facilities, any person performing the procedure or assisting in performing the procedure faces life imprisonment.
The sentence of life imprisonment and a fine of not less than EGP 1,000,000 (US$32,365) and not exceeding EGP 2,000,000 (US$64,677) shall be imposed on any person transferred with the intent of transplantation or transplanting the transplanted organ through fraud or coercion.
Moreover, Article 8 of the law allows the transplantation of an organ from the body of a deceased person to a living person if the deceased consented in a documented will.
Article 10 calls for a registry to be created for patients in need of transplants which will be organized by need.
The Egyptian law also includes details regarding money or tangible or in-kind interest obtained from unlawful operations, the transportation of human tissue for illegal operations, and the revocation of medical facilities involved in human organ transplants without the necessary approvals.
All medical analysis procedures related to transplantation, especially regarding tissue compatibility, are carried out within the Ministry of Health and Population’s laboratories by following the highest quality standards.
Consequently, the Ministry of Health and Population is working to establish an advanced electronic system to register those wishing to donate organs after their death.
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