FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
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First Regular Session 
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Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Constitution, Article IT, Section 15, states that: 
“The State shall protect and promote the right to health of the 
people and instill health consciousness among them.” 
The practice of acquiring an organ from a living related donor is acceptable. 
Donation from a living non-related donor is also acceptable but it should be emphasized 
that there should he no form of profiteering among donor and alleged agent. 
Although the sale of an organ does not violate any law, the Department of Health 
(DOH) has said that the organized practice of organ donation for profit is against ethical 
standards and is not within the commerce of man. Allowing the practice of living non- 
related donors in the country will open doors for foreigners to buy kidney and other body 
parts here in our country, particularly since many of our countrymen are poor. People 
who accept payment for organ donation are not properly informed of the consequences. 
The operation on a healthy donor may he a possible source of infection and may cause 
excessive bleeding. 
DOH reported that a kidney is sold for about P100,OOO.OO with the agent getting P 
10,000 to P12,OOO per deal. The sale of kidney has already happened in the past but these 
were done before the transplantation ethics was discussed and put into order. 
Kidney transplantation, compared to a lifetime of dialysis, is considered the most 
successful treatment mode for end-stage renal failure in terms of improving the quality of 
life of the chronically ill. Expedient and relatively less costly, the cost of transplantation 


ranges from P300,OOOO to P500,OOO and pales in comparison to the required twice-a- 
week dialysis at P5,450.00 per session, amounting to P43,600.00 a month or P523,200 
per year. Since no government or private insurance, or health maintenance organization 
(HMO) sustain prolonged dialysis, its exorbitant costs are borne out-of-pocket by 
patients. Given the expense, it i s  understandable that of the estimated 25,000 to 30,000 
Filipinos afflicted with end-stage kidney disorders, only 2,000 are on dialysis (Phil. 
Society of Nephrology Disease Registry, 1998). Most patients on dialysis, however, 
come for treatment for an average period of six (6) months when their financial resources 
run out. 
Organs for transplantation come from various sources: cadaveric donation, living 
related organ donation from parents, siblings, and offsprings, and living non related organ 
donation. Of these sources, living non related organ donation may involve payment of 
organ donors - a practice which runs counter to Western / Northern traditions where the 
sale of body parts is believed to be immoral. In the European Union and in North 
America, legal prohibitions are in place penalizing both organ donors and recipients 
involved in the transaction. In these affluent and developed nations, government 
subsidies and provisions for support of hemodialysis abound - a situation that is not 
obtaining in developing countries where governments and people are impoverished. 
Terminally ill patients in developing countries with limited resources, thus, consider 
organ transplantation as the only resource.' 
' This bill was originally filed in the Thirteenth Congress, Third Regular Session. 


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FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
First Regular Session 
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OF THE PHILIPPINES 
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JiJL -3 
AI I 5 6  
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
AN ACT 
DONATIONS’ 
REGULATING “LIVING NON-RELATED ORGAN 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Living Non-Related Organ 
Donations Ac of 2007t”. 
SECTION 2. Declaration ofpolicy. - It is the policy of the State to protect the health of 
the people and to promote programs and regulations to protect the same. 
SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. - 
(1) 
“Living Related Donors’’ - the international transplantation definition is limited 
to relatives of the 1’‘ degree of consanguinity, i.e. parents, siblings, and offsprings; in the 
Philippine context, however, it shall subsume the concept of the “extended family” inclusive of 
spouses and all blood relatives; 
(2) 
(3) 
“Cadaver Donors” - are organs taken from brain dead donors; 
“Living Non-Related Donors ” (LNRD) include the following: 
3.1 
Emotionally Related Donation - organs from friends, close 
associates, with no blood-line relationship; 
3.2 
Gifted or Gratitudinal Donation - donors receive a token of 
appreciation or recognition in cash or in kind within the context of gratitude and 
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reciprocity; 


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3.3 
Commercial or “for profit” donation - organs are donated as a 
business proposition with an agreed price, arranged by a brokedagent with a 
profit motive; 
SECTION 4. Guidelines in ‘Living-Non Related Organ Donation”. - Pursuant to 
universal ethical standards for the preservation of life, respect and promotion of human dignity, 
as enshrined in the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, the following guidelines 
pertinent of Living Non Related Organ Donation are hereby proposed: 
(1) 
All organ donations must adhere to the following precepts: ethical, religious, 
moral, cultural and social, and the legality of procedures founded on equity, justice, and 
volunteerism; 
(2) 
Commercial or for “profit” kidney donation shall not be allowed; compensation in 
Living Non Related Organ Donation shall be carried out in the spirit of altruism between donor 
and donee; and shall not in any way, be transacted through brokers; 
(3) 
Continuing Support to Donors shall include medical care, economic and 
livelihood opportunities, educational privileges for dependents, and other mechanisms to promote 
their well being; 
(4) 
Hospitals engaged in organ transplantation mush have an active Ethics Committee 
which will evaluate and approve all kidney transplantation from living non related donors; in the 
dispensation of its mandate, the Committee shall monitor, supervise, and implement the order of 
conduct in the procurement of donor organs; 
( 5 )  
In “Living Non-Related Organ Donation” the Ethics Committee shall ensure the 
Psychosocial preparation and processing of donors during the pre-operational and post- 
transplantation phases respectively; 
(6) 
A national nonprofit intermediary body shall be established to oversee the 
transplantation process, including the procurement of the organ; it shall supervise a centralized 
coordinated organ donor bank and patient Registry; and shall observe equity in the 
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distributiodassignation of the organs through a national organ donation network; 


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(7) 
LNRD donation for foreigners shall temporarily be disallowed pending further 
deliberation. Exceptions under certain circumstances may include the following: 
a. Filipinos with foreign citizenship 
b. Foreign nationals married to Filipino citizens and living in the Philippines. 
Exceptions shall ensure that no Filipino citizen with a need for organ donation is 
prejudiced in accommodating the same. 
SECTION S .  Regulating Authorily. - The Department of Health is the government 
agency responsible for the implementation of the guidelines for Living Non- Related Organ 
Donation. The DOH shall coordinate with local health agencies to supervise and monitor the 
implementation of the guidelines to Living Non-Related Organ Donation. 
SECTION 6. Penalties fur Violation. - The DOH shall formulate proper regulatory 
sanctions for hospitals, health agencies, and individuals who shall not comply with the guidelines 
herein. 
SECTION 7. Separability Clause. - If any portion or provision of this Act is declared 
unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity and effectivity of the other provisions not 
affected thereby. 
SECTION 8. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and 
regulations, and other issuances or parts thereof which are inconsistent with this Act are hereby 
repealed, amended, or modified accordingly. 
SECTION 9. Effectivity CIause- This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its 
publication in two (2) national newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
CMH 28 MAY 2007