Regulations for organ donation, transplants being developed with int’l expertise – Min. Anthony

Regulations that will govern how transplants will be conducted in Guyana are currently being developed, in keeping with the best practices and international standards in the healthcare sector.

Last year, the Tissue and Organ Transplant Act was passed in the National Assembly to provide a legal framework for the transplantation of human organs, tissues, cells and biofluids.

To this end, the Ministry of Health has partnered with the Donation and Transplantation Institute (DTI) in Barcelona which has years of experience in this field to develop these guidelines.

Minister, Dr Frank Anthony, during an update on Friday, explained that these regulations will meet international requirements and will improve the way transplants are being done in Guyana.

In addition, the government is aiming to expand the range of transplants being offered.

“Right now, we do two types of transplants. We do the living organ donor for kidneys and corneal transplants for patients who need them. So, we have been doing that but we want to expand the range of options that we’ll have for transplants,” Minister Anthony explained.

Apart from establishing regulations, professionals in this field will be trained by experts from the DTI. Already, Minister Anthony met with experts from DTI to discuss the way forward.

He stated, “I think this first visit for the year from DTI would not be their last because we intend to have very close collaboration with them so that we can improve in the area of transplant and all the standards that we put in place here would meet the international requirements.”
The newly passed legislation will allow for regenerative medicine including cell therapy, gene therapy and stem cell therapy that are geared towards treating patients who may need these types of medical procedures.

This forms part of a holistic plan by the PPP/C Administration to create a world-class healthcare system for its citizens.