INTRODUCED BY SEN. JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The lack of supply to satisfy the need for organs and tissues is a serious 
This bill seeks to establish a unified national system of organ sharing 
encompassing a patient registry to facilitate the success of organ transplantation 
and survival of patients by regulating the procurement of human organ and tissue 
transplantation. Some of the salient features of this bill are the following: 
The establishment and maintenance of a Human Organ and 
Tissue Procurement and Transplantation Network. This shall be 
a national system which will facilitate the acquisition and 
transplantation of the same by individuals in need of receiving 
life-saving organ transplantation. 
The creation of a Task Force which will conduct a study on all 
tissues and common problem area in the human organ and 
tissue procurement and transplantation. 
The prohibition and punishment of individuals engaged in the 
marketing of human organs and tissues for profit. 
The enhancement and promotion of programs for organ and 
tissue donations. 
problem common to all programs in organ and tissue transplantation. 
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
In the light of foregoing considerations, approval of this bill is earnestly 
sought. 
Senator 


, , . ,  
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fJFF,,: '. ~,*' ; i ;i, :zi.$i'iEl:4i;V 
FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
First Regular Session 
) 
g 
JUL -2 
p ,:1 :L.l I 
INTRODUCED BY SEN. JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA 
AN ACT 
TO REGULATE THE PROCUREMENT AND TRANSPLANT OF HUMAN 
ORGANS AND TISSUES AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Title. This Act shall be known as the "Human Organ and 
Tissue Procurement and Transplant Act of 2007." 
SEC 2. Declaration of Policies. It is hereby declared national policy of the 
State to: 
(a) Promote public access to multiple human organs and tissues; 
(b) Address the technical and ethical issues involved in human organ and 
tissue procurement and transplantation; 
(c) Develop policies ensuring fair access to transplant surgery for 
individuals who without such surgery would be at risk of losing their 
lives; 
(d) Devise a system by which valuable human organs and tissues which 
are desperately needed by waiting victims of end-stage organ failure 
could be readily obtained and equally distributed; 
(e) Motivate the public to become human organ and tissue donors; 
(9 Encourage health professionals to identify in a timely manner 
prospective donors of human organs and tissues; 
(9) Encourage and extend support to the laudable initiative and efforts of 
the voluntary non-governmental health organizations to encourage our 
citizens to become voluntary organ and tissue donors and enable 
those in need to benefit from the dramatic achievements and 
developments in the field of human organ and tissue transplantation; 
(h) Support and direct the development of a rational and fair national 
health policy regarding the appropriate government and private sector 
roles human organ and tissue procurement and transplantation; and 
(i) Prohibit and penalize the for-profit marketing of human organs and 
tissues. 
SEC 3. Definition of Terms. As used in this Act, the term: 


Human Organ and Tissue - refers to the kidney, liver, heart, 
lung, pancreas, bone marrow, cornea, eye, bone, skin, nerve, 
muscle tissues and any other human organ or tissue that may 
be specified by the Secretary of Health by regulation. 
For-profit Marketing - refers to a transaction whereby a person 
agrees for valuable consideration, whether given or to be given 
to himself or to another person to the sale or supply of any 
human organ or tisye from his body or from the body of 
another person, whether before or after his death or the death 
of the other person, as the case maybe. 
Valuable Consideration - does not include the reasonable 
payments associated with the 
removal, transportation, 
implantation, processing, preservation, quality control and 
storage of a human organ or tissue or other hospitalization 
expenses or the expense of travel housing and last wage or 
funeral expenses incurred by the donor of a human organ or 
tissue in connection with the donation of the organ or tissue. It 
will not also include any reasonable incentives to be given by 
the donee or 
other government or 
non-governmental 
organizations; 
Transplant Center - refers to health care facility in which 
transplants of organs and tissues are performed. 
SEC 4. For-Profif Marketing. The for-profit marketing of human organs 
and tissues is hereby declared unlawful. 
SEC 5. Human Organ and Tissue Procurement and Transplantation 
Nefwork (Network). The Secretary of Health shall encourage the establishment 
and maintenance of the Human Organ and Tissue Procurement and 
Transplantation Network in various strategic geographical areas of the country to 
be determined by the Task Force as hereinafter created. 
SEC 6. Composifion. The Human Organ and Tissue Procurement and 
Transplantation Network shall be a non-profit entity which is not engaged in any 
activity not related to organ and tissue procurement, and shall have a board of 
directors which include representatives of organ and tissue procurement 
organizations. 
SEC 7. Function of the Nefwork. The Network shall establish a list of 
individuals in one location who needs organs or tissues, and a national system in 
accordance with established medical criteria, to match organs or tissues and 
individuals included in the list especially individuals whose immune system 
makes it difficult for them to readily or successfully receive organs or tissues. 
In addition, the Network shall: 
Maintain a twenty-four hour telephone service to facilitate 
matching organs or tissues which individuals included in the list; 
Assist local organ and tissue procurement organizations in the 
distribution of organs and tissues which cannot be placed within 
the service areas of the organizations; 
Adopt and use standards of quality for the acquisition and 
transportation of donated organs and tissues; 
Prepare and distribute, on a regionalized basis, samples of 
blood sera from individuals who are included on a list and 
(a) 
(b) 
(c) 
(d) 


whose immune system makes it difficult for them to receive 
organs or tissues, in order to facilitate matching the 
compatibility of such individuals with organ and tissue donors; 
Coordinate the transportation of organs and tissues from 
procurement organizations to transplant including those from 
other countries. 
In case, the latter shall be facilitated in 
accordance with Section 14 of Republic Act No. 7170, 
otherwise known as the Organ Donation Act of 1991 under the 
provision on International Sharing of Human Organs or Tissues; 
Provide 
information 
to 
physicians 
and 
other 
health 
professionals regarding organ and tissue donations; and 
Collect, analyze and publish data concerning organ and tissue 
donations and transplants. 
Human Organ and Tissue Procurement (HOTPO). 
A human 
organ and tissue procurement may be established in strategic geographical 
country, subject respectively, the approval and of the Secretary of Health. Such 
organization shall: 
(a) Be a non-profit entity; 
(b) Have an accounting and other fiscal procedures necessary to assure 
the fiscal stability of the organization; 
(c) Have a Board of Directors or Advisory Board, the composition of which 
shall be determined by the Task Force as may be hereinafter be 
created; 
(d) Have a director and such other staff, including the hurhan organ 
donation and tissues coordinators and human organ and tissue 
procurement specialist necessary to effectively obtain human organs 
and tissues from donors in its service area. 
SEC 9. Functions of the kOTfO. A human organ and tissue procurement 
(a) 
Conduct and participate in systematic efforts, including 
professional education, to acquire all useable organs and 
tissues from potential donors; 
Arrange for the acquisition and preservation of donated human 
organs and tissues and provide quality standards for the 
acquisition of human organs and tissues which are consistent 
with the standards adopted by the Network; 
Arrange for the appropriate tissue typing of donated human 
organs; 
Have a system to allocate donated human organs and tissues 
among transplant centers and patients according to medical 
criteria; 
Participate in the Network authorized to be established under 
this Act; and 
Make arrangements to cooperate with human organ and tissue 
banks for the retrieval, processing, preservation, storage and 
distribution of human organs and tissues as may be appropriate 
to assure that all useable human organs and tissues are 
obtained from potential donors. 
SEC IO. Registry of RecjpjenfdReport. The Secretary of Health shall 
require the network to develop and maintain a scientific registry of the 
recipients of human organ and tissue transplants. The registry shall 
include such information respecting patients and transplant procedures as 
organization shall: 
04 
(4 
@) 
(e) 
(0 


he may deem necessary to an on-going evaluation of the scientific and 
clinical status of human organ and tissue transplantation. 
The Secretary of Health shall regularly report to Congress on the 
analysis of information derived from registry. 
SEC 11, Advisory Panel or Board. The Secretary of Health shall form an 
advisory panel or board in the Department of Health which shall assist him 
in: 
(a) Supervising the private sector in the human organ and tissue 
procurement activities provided for in this Act; 
(b) Conducting a program of public information to inform the public 
of the need for human organ and tissue donations; 
(c) Providing technical assistance to human organ and tissue 
procurement organizations established in accordance with this 
Act; 
(d) The preparation of an annual report to be submitted to 
Congress on the status of human organ and tissue donation 
and coordination services, including an analysis of the efficiency 
and effectiveness of the procurement and allocation of human 
organs and tissues, a description of problems encountered in 
the procurement and allocation of human organs and tissues, 
and clinical and Scientific status of human organ and tissue 
transplantation; 
SEC 12. Task Force. Within two (2) months from the effectivity of this Act, 
the Secretary of Health shall establish a Task Force on Human Organs and 
Tissue Procurement and Transplantation (hereinafter referred to as the Task 
Force). 
SEC 13. Composition/Appointment and Business. 
(a) The Task Force shall be composed of the following: 
(1) Five (5) physicians or scientist who are eminent the various 
medical and scientific specialties related to human organ and 
tissue transplantation; 
(2) One (1) person who is not a physician or a scientist and who 
represent the field of human organ and tissue procurement; 
(3) Three (3) individuals who are not physicians and who as a 
group have expertise in the fields of law, theology, ethics, health 
care financing and social and behavioral sciences; 
(4) Two (2) individuals who are not physicians or scientists arid who 
are members of the general public. 
(b) The members of the Task Force shall be appointed by the President 
which need not be submitted for confirmation by the Commission on 
Appointments; 
(c) No individual who is a full-time officer or employee of the Philippine 
Government may be appointed by the Task Force. A vacancy in the 
Task Force shall be in the manner in which the original appointment; 
(d) The members shall be appointed for the life of the Task Force; 
(e) The Task Force shall elect its Chairman from among its members; 
(f) One -half plus one of the members of the Task Force shall constitute a 
quorum to do business, but may hold hearings; 
(9) The Task Force, shall hold its first meeting on the date specified by the 
Secretary of Health which shall not be later than thirty (30) days from 
the establishment of the Task Force. Thereaffer, the Task Force shall 


meet at the call of the Chairman or a majority of its members but shall 
meet at least twelve (12) times during the lifetime of the Task Force. 
(h) The Secretary of Health shall provide the Task Force with 
administrative and support services as the Force may require to carry 
out effectively its duties. 
SEC 14. 
Honorarium. The members of the Task Force shall receive 
honorarium in such amount the President of the Philippines shall 
determine for each meeting of the Force actually attended by them, but in 
no case shall honorarium exceed the sum of Twenty Four Thousand 
Pesos (P24,OOO.OO) for each member for the whole life of the Task Force. 
SEC 15. Functions. The Task Force shall perform the following functiops: 
(a) Conduct comprehensive examinations of the medical, legal, ethical, 
economic and social issues presented by human organ and tissue 
procurement and transplantation; 
(b) Make an assessment of immunosuppressive medications used to 
prevent organ and tissue rejection in transplant patients, including - 
(I) 
An analysis of the safety, effectiveness, and cost (including cost 
savings from improved success rates of transplantation) of 
different modalities of treatment. 
(2) An identification of problems that patients encounter in 
obtaining immunosuppressive medications; 
(3) An analysis of the extent of insurance reimbursement for long- 
therapy for organ and tissue transplant patients by private 
insurers and the public sector; 
(4) An analysis of the comparative advantages of grants, coverage 
under existing programs or other means to assure that 
individuals who need such medications can obtain them. 
(c) Make an assessment of public and private efforts to procure human 
organs and tissues for transplantation and identification of factors that 
diminish the number of human organs and tissues available for 
transplantation; 
(d) Make an assessment of problems in coordinating the procurement of 
viable human organs and tissues, including skin and bone for 
transplantation; 
(e) Make recommendations for the education and training of health 
professionals, including physicians, nurses and hospital and 
emergency care personnel, with respect to human organ and tissue 
procurement and transplantation; 
(9 Make recommendation for the education of the general public, health 
workers, the clergy, law enforcement officers, members of the local fire 
departments and other agencies and individuals that may be 
instrumental in affecting human and tissue procurement; 
(9) Make recommendations for assuring equitable access by patients to 
organ and tissue transplantation and for assuring equitable allocation 
of donated human organs and tissues among transplant centers and 
among patients medically qualified for an organ and tissue transplant; 
(h) Identify the barriers to the donation of human organs and tissues to 
patients (with special emphasis upon pediatric patients), including an 
assessment of: 
(1) Barriers to the improved identification of human organ and 
tissue donors and their families and organ and tissue recipients; 
(2) The number of potential human organ and tissue donors and 
their geographical distribution; 


(3) Current health care services provided for patients who need 
human organ and tissue transplantation and human organ and 
tissue procurement procedures, systems and programs which 
affect such patients; 
(4) Cultural factors affecting the family with respect to the donation 
of human organs and tissues and; 
(5) Ethical and economic, issues relating to human organ and 
tissue needed by chronically-ill patients; 
(i) Make recommendations for the conduct and coordination of continuing 
research concerning all aspects of the transplantation of human 
organs and tissues; 
(j) Make an analysis of the factors involved in insurance reimbursement 
for transplant procedures by private insurers and the public sector; 
(k) Make an analysis of the manner in which human organ and tissue 
transplantation technology is diffused among and adopted by qualified 
medical centers, including a specification of the number an 
geographical distribution of qualified medical centers using such 
technology is sufficient or excessive and of whether the public has 
sufficient access to medical procedures using such technology; 
(I) Make an assessment of the feasibility of establishing and of the likely 
effectiveness of a national and tissue donors. 
SEC 16. Designation of Hospitals and Medical Centers. The Secretary of 
Health may, upon the recommendation of the Task Force, designate hospitals 
and medical equipped with the appropriate state-of-the-art facilities as training 
centers for Human organ procurement and transplantation. 
SEC 17. Reports. Not later than three (3) months after the Task Force is 
established, shall transmit a report to the Secretary of Health and to Congress its 
assessments of immune-suppressive medications to prevent organ and tissue 
rejection. 
Not later than six (6) months after the date on which the Task Force is 
established, the Task Force shall transmit a final report to the Secretary of Health 
and the Congress, which shall include: 
I. 
A description of any finding and conclusion of the Task 
Force made pursuant to any study conducted under this 
Act; 
2. 
Such recommendation as the Task Force considers 
appropriate; 
SEC 18. Penalty. Any person who shall buy and sell human organs or 
tissues for profit-marketing shall, upon conviction suffer the penalty of 
imprisonment for not less than two (2) years nor more than five (5) years and to 
pay a fine of not less than Ten Thousand Pesos (PlO,OOO.OO), nor more than 
Fifty Thousand Pesos (P50,OOO.OO) 
at the discretion of the court, if the offender 
is a public officer, he shall, in addition, suffer the penalty of perpetual absolute 
disqualification from holding a public office. If the offender is an alien, he shall be 
deported further proceedings. 
A Doctor of Medicine or any health professionals who has no knowledge 
of any for-profit marketing transactions shall be free from any liability. 
SEC 19. Appropriation. The sum of Three Million Pesos (P3,000,000.00) 
not otherwise appropriated from the funds of the National Treasury is hereby 


appropriated to implement the provisions of this Act. Thereafter, the same shall 
be included in the General Appropriations Act. 
SEC 20. 
Rules and Regulations. The Secretary of Health, after 
consultation with health professionals, both government and private and non- 
governmental health organizations shall promulgate such rules and regulations 
as may be necessary for the proper implementation of this Act. 
All laws, decrees, ordinances, rules and 
regulations, executive or administrative orders, and other presidential issuances 
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended or 
modified accordingly. 
SEC 22. 
SEC 21. Repealing clause. 
Separability Clause. The provisions of this Act are hereby 
If any provision hereof should be declared invalid or 
SEC 23. €ffectivify. This Act shall, take effect after fifteen (15) days 
deemed separable. 
unconstitutional, the remaining provisions shall remain in full for force and effect. 
following its publication in at, least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved,