HC Deb 20 April 1989 vol 151 cc261-2W
Mr. Andrew Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures he intends to take to prohibit the sale of human organs; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Freeman

The Government have today introduced the Human Organ Transplants Bill which seeks to ban the sale of human organs intended for transplant. The Bill would make it a criminal offence tomake or receive payment for supplying, or offering to supply, an organ from a dead or living person; act as a broker for such an arrangement; advertise organs or for organs to be provided for payment; transplant an organ from a living donor who is not closely related (cousin or closer relative) to the recipient, unless certain conditions are satisfied. These conditions would be set out in the regulations.

The regulations would specify the way in which the relationship between voluntary donor and recipient would be established and the conditions which would have to be satisfied for those who are not closely related. Responsibility for ensuring that the regulations were being complied with would be given to such authority as would be set up under those regulations.