A person’s decision to donate organs should be final but relatives should be able to opt for donation if their loved one never took a stand on the matter, Health Parliamentary Secretary Chris Fearne says.
“I believe in the altruism of the Maltese. At the moment, when a potential donor dies, doctors approach a relative to ask them if they want to donate the organs to help others. In nine out of 10 cases the relatives say ‘Yes’,” Mr Fearne said during a discussion on organ donation organised on the University of Malta campus.
The debate formed part of the consultation process on the White Paper on organ donation, which is open till May 20.
Mr Fearne noted that, as things stood today, organ donation in Malta was unregulated.
We have to choose what is best for our country
The NGO Transplant Support Group Malta issues donor cards to those who apply, but these cards have no legal weight. When a person with a donor card passes away, relatives have the final say as to whether or not to donate the organs.
The White Paper lays out two main options: the opt-out system, which assumes everyone is a willing donor unless they refuse explicitly, and the opt-in system, whereby people have to choose to be added to the registered donation list.
Both systems can then be soft – when relatives are allowed the last word – or hard – when relatives’ wishes are not considered.
“We have to choose what is best for our country... Personally, I think we should keep this hybrid system. I believe in a soft opt-out system,” Mr Fearne said.
This, he said, would ensure that the will of the individual was respected – whether or not they wanted their organs donated – and relatives would have no power to change that. However, in those cases when no preference was voiced, the choice shifted to the relatives.
Mr Fearne stressed that these were his personal views and did not necessarily mean the law on organ donation would go in that direction, given that the issue was open for public consultation.
He said the law would also regulate the trafficking of organs by making it clear it was a crime and would address important issues, such as the age at which a person could consent to becoming a donor.
MP Deborah Schembri cautioned that a hard opt-out system – one which assumed all people were donors unless they opted out – could backfire.
Research had shown that people did not like being imposed upon and this could result in many refusing, she said.