Philippines to ban most kidney 'donations': gov't sources

0 Comments | AFP, April, 2008

MANILA (AFP) — Health authorities in the Philippines will this week announce a ban on most kidney transplants for foreign patients in a bid to stem a thriving trade in organs, health ministry sources said Monday.

The new rule will ban kidney transplants to foreign patients in cases where the living donor is a Filipino who is not a blood relation, they said.

It will effectively make permanent a temporary suspension of transplants to foreigners that was implemented last month while the authorities crafted new guidelines for donations.

The announcement will not cover transplants from living relatives, nor the harvesting of kidneys from the dead, the sources added.

The Philippines is a world "hotspot" for human organ trafficking, according to the...