The Church wants the concept of organ donation being a voluntary gift to be retained.

The Church was yesterday urged by a senior theologian to conduct an information campaign on organ donation as the country discusses legislation to regulate organ harvesting.

“Let’s build on our already positive experience and provide more legal information to those who would like to become donors.

“Let’s start a good campaign, even from the Church’s side, to tackle religious fears,” Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Agius, the Dean of the Faculty of Theology yesterday told a seminar on organ donation and transplants.

Speaking at the event organised by the Transplant Support Group, Prof. Agius insisted that relatives should also be consulted in cases where a deceased person was registered as a donor, because the family could be a source of information about medical issues.

Malta could build on its already positive experience and encourage altruism in organ donation as there was no greater love than to give life to those whose were at risk.

Let’s start a good campaign,even from the Church’s side,to tackle religious fears

Prof. Agius’ comments come after Parliamentary Secretary for Health Chris Fearne this week said the government was leaning towards retaining the current system, known as the opt-in approach.

This means patients have to give their consent before the organs are harvested, and the current system allows doctors to consult with the relatives.

Meanwhile, in a position paper it presented on Wednesday as part of the public consultation on the proposed legislation, the Church said the current system drew much of its success from people’s altruism. It seemed, however, that the White Paper was “rather prejudiced” against a system that was exclusively based on altruism.

The concept of organ donation being a voluntary gift must be retained, it recommended, adding that the new legislation should focus on strengthening the opt-in system.

This could be done, among others ways, by legislating to give legal validity to the donor card, while also providing the necessary tools that could help relatives of the deceased cooperate. The recommendations include offering better training to doctors and nurses to deal with potential donors and their families and increasing access to becoming a donor by for example asking people whether they wanted to become donors when they registered for a driving licence or identity card.