IT is difficult to see the logic behind the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice allowing the Council of Islamic Ideology two months to comment on The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues (Amendment) Bill 2018 — which was passed thanks to the efforts of Senator Mian Ateeq Shaikh — thereby delaying its passage. Under the bill, Nadra will ask citizens if they wish to register as donors, and which organs they would like to donate, upon the creation of their CNICs. Since 2010, progressive politicians have been trying to legislate on organ donation, but there have been constant hurdles placed in their way. Prior to this, SIUT, Edhi Foundation and concerned individuals have been lobbying for such legislation for years. And now, when the bill has finally been vetted after a comprehensive debate, what is the point of further postponement?

While local religious scholars are divided on the issue, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has approved organ transplantation, and many Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran already practise it. But in Pakistan, the basic lack of awareness and poor access to legal facilitation have led to the perpetuation of a thriving black market for organs — demanded by those desperate to live, and supplied by desperate poverty. Additionally, there is a lack of data on the topic. Instead of indulging in further deferments, the legislators should look into building awareness campaigns and facilitating proper data registration programmes. The media can and should be used to its full potential to promote the practice, particularly of cadaveric donation, where organs are donated by the deceased. Prominent public figures, celebrities and politicians should also openly support such initiatives, to ease some of the taboos and fears surrounding it. It is an open secret that many of the organ donors in Pakistan are bonded labourers, desperate to pay off their debts. There have been instances when police raids found donors locked up in suffocating apartments, trapped by an obligation they unwittingly signed up to in exchange for a few thousand rupees. With little to no rights, and in the absence of the law, such patients rarely receive post-operative care, and some die from complications. Facilitating legal and ethical organ donation will ease taboos, provide safety to donors, and save lives. At the end of the day, that is the entire point of organ donation — to save lives.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2019