The Human Tissue Transplant Bill, 2026 should see ten to 12 kidney transplants a year, more than doubling what occurs now.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Wellness Davidson Ishmael said that the Bill, debated in the House of Assembly yesterday, was important because of the significant jump in life-saving techniques. He held it up as a shining example of the work of a ministry that can actually save lives.
He also revealed that in 20 years, the number of kidney patients had moved from 185 to 300.
In relation to transplants, the minister said the lives being saved were significant and helped people regain their strength and capabilities, return to being full-time employees, their communities and to mentor young people.
“This Bill comes as a result of us understanding the difficulties confronting our citizens, persons who are living with conditions such as chronic kidney disease; those who may be connected to individuals who are living with renal failure, advanced kidney disease. It’s those persons who, over the years, who have advanced the call, who have advocated strongly, who have energised, who have continued to keep, I would say, the fire under the feet of various administrations to make this Bill a reality today,” he said.
The legislation, Ishmael said, was necessary in relation to people who were alive giving consent, once they were a suitable donor, to save the life of another person.
“But one of the key elements of this new Bill . . . is found in Part 7 . . . which now offers our people an opportunity to have organs donated [and] receive donated organs from persons who have passed away.
“In fact, Section 23.1 speaks to the various ways that consent can be given, either by the individual, him or herself, before passing, or if that person is incapable of being able to give that directive, the next of kin is sought in order to make that and give that consent. This introduces for us an element of what is called advanced directives.”
He added: “There are many persons, unfortunately, who leave this Earth and who take several healthy organs in tow with them as they leave. This has not really been a reality in our national experience for persons to be willing and able to offer their organs upon their death. But this is something that has been happening all over the world. All over the world, across many different jurisdictions, there’s legislation that allows persons to be able to offer parts of themselves in being able to advance, improve, enhance the life of another person.”
He explained that while some medical procedures can be followed up with pills and rest, kidney disease was not one of those conditions since those affected might have to be placed on dialysis and change their lifestyle.
“It is a serious and impactful disease. In many cases, they have to spend two, three, sometimes even four days connected to a dialysis machine just so they can filter and clean their bodies. And, in some cases, there are individuals who have to stay on it every single night when they’re doing the home therapy and that’s at least ten hours a night. So therefore, you can imagine the impact on this person’s life,” he told the House.