A3-0074/93

Resolution on prohibiting trade in transplant organs

The European Parliament,

-having regard to its resolution of 27 April 1979 on organ banks,

-having regard to its resolution of 15 April 1983 on organ transplants,

-having regard to its resolution of 15 September 1988 on trafficking in children in Central America,

-having regard to resolution (78) 29 of 11 May 1978 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and the conclusions of the 3rd Conference of European Health Ministers in Paris on 16/17 November 1987,

-having regard to the motion for a resolution by Mrs Schleicher and others on trade in transplant organs (B3-0272/91),

-having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection (A3-0074/93),

A.whereas the principle is universally recognized that every patient has a right to the physical and psychiatric care required by his state of health, irrespective of his social status, race or religion,

B.whereas in every case organ donation must be an act of free will undertaken in the absence of any form of coercion and without compensation; whereas the replacement of a diseased or damaged organ with a healthy one may under no circumstances be regarded as a fundamental human right,

C.whereas it is morally necessary to give sick people whose medical condition so requires all the information available concerning possibilities of organ transplants, as well as alternative treatments, and whereas such information should also be given to the next of kin,

D.whereas it is morally preferable to obtain explicit consent from potential donors during their lifetime,

E.whereas it is morally necessary to counsel donors' relatives both before and after transplants and to introduce special training programmes for medical staff for this purpose,

F.having regard to the growing number of organ transplants carried out for therapeutic purposes,

G.having regard to the shortage of transplant organs and the need to achieve self-sufficiency in Europe,

H.whereas the chronic shortage of transplant organs may lead to the development of trafficking in organs, which is incompatible with respect for human dignity, and, to prevent this, an exchange of information between the EC and third countries, in particular Central and Eastern Europe, is essential,

I.whereas the high cost of transplanting organs places people in poor countries at a serious disadvantage in comparison with those in rich countries,

J.whereas there is evidence that foetuses, children and adults in some developing countries have been mutilated and others murdered with the aim of obtaining transplant organs for export to rich countries,

K.whereas the numbers of organ transplants carried out vary within the European Community according to the availability of suitable hospital facilities and funding, thereby causing a growing imbalance within the Community,

L.whereas Article 3(4) of Directive 89/381/EEC of 14 June 1989 provides for Community self-sufficiency in human blood and plasma,

M.whereas Directive 91/507/EEC of 19 July 1991 lays down analytical, pharmacotoxicological and clinical standards and protocols in respect of the testing of medicinal products with the aim of improving monitoring of the therapeutic efficacy of medicinal products,

N.whereas Annex I to the specific research and technological development programme in the field of biomedicine and health (1990 to 1994) provides for research into methods of improving organ transplants and whereas Area 4 of the programme must be extended to cover substitute organs of animal or artificial origin,

O.whereas the new Title X inserted by the Maastricht Treaty into the EC Treaty lays down that 'the Community shall contribute towards ensuring a high level of human health protection by encouraging cooperation between the Member States and, if necessary, lending support to their action',

P.whereas the Community should take action with regard to organ transplants, in close cooperation with the Council of Europe, particularly in the spheres of coordination of activities, exchange of information and public awareness campaigns,

Q.having regard to the current existence of trafficking in foetuses, children and incapable adults who are used as organ providers,

1.Calls on the Council to take the necessary measures to prohibit commercial trade in transplant organs throughout Community territory;

2.Calls for a ban on imports, use and/or transplants of organs and tissues whose origin and state of health is not known with certainty;

3.Calls on the Commission to condemn the laxness of certain countries which allow such trafficking to develop;

4.Calls for action to be taken to put a stop to the mutilation and murder of foetuses, children and adults in certain developing countries for the purpose of providing transplant organs;

5.Calls on the Commission to draw up a code of conduct comprising:

(a)conditions governing the origin of transplant organs,

(b)the principle that organs should be donated free of charge and that donors should remain anonymous to the recipient,

(c)the principle that no supplementary payment specific to the medical act of transplanting organs should be made,

(d)a system of:

1.approval of hospital departments responsible for transplants,

2.separation of intensive care units from surgical units responsible for transplants,

(e)a ban on the removal of organs from minors, from adults who are legally incapable, and from anencephalic infants,

(f)the establishment of medical criteria for placing patients on waiting lists, including, in the following order: (1) medical urgency; (2) the possibility of guaranteeing transplant patients a reasonable post-operative existence; (3) histocompatibility; (4) length of time on the waiting list; the list should be circulated solely within medical circles,

(g)the right of patients to information about possibilities of organ transplants appropriate to their state of health;

6.In order to achieve the objective of self-sufficiency in transplant organs, calls for European cooperation to be stepped up in the following areas:

(a)computerization of data on available organs, patients awaiting transplants and parameters for ensuring histocompatibility, for example extension of the Eurocomputerlink system,

(b)stepping up of European cooperation among non-profit-making associations responsible for gathering such data,

(c)settlement of the costs arising from the removal of organs, proper treatment and, where applicable, transport to be based on the principle that the cost is payable by the recipients of the transplants or by their health and social security schemes,

(d)maximum use of live donors belonging to the family for kidney transplants,

(e)continuation and intensification of scientific research into artificial organs and xenografts,

(f)cooperation between national health services responsible for organ transplants, with special emphasis on the importance of establishing specialized services in those countries which do not yet have them so as to avoid international transportation of patients awaiting transplants, which always leads to trauma,

(g)launching of public awareness campaigns, particularly among the young, based on the principle of generosity and solidarity, with due regard for the individual person and individual feelings,

(h)efficient hospital records and the introduction of an effective transplant programme between central and outlying hospitals;

7.Calls on the Commission to take all necessary measures in the context of the free movement of goods within the Community to ensure that no administrative or health obstacles arise to the transportation of transplant organs;

8.Calls on the Commission to study the possibility of extending to transplant organs the measures contained in Directive 91/507/EEC on good laboratory practice with a view to improving monitoring of the health of organs so as to prevent any bacterial or viral infection;

9.Calls on the Member States to ensure that Interpol is informed and that its investigations are facilitated by the actual countries in which the trafficking takes place;

10.Calls on the Council to exert pressure on the Member States with a view to ensuring that the organizers of trafficking in transplant organs receive exemplary punishment;

11.Calls on the Commission to report to Parliament and particularly to its Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection on developments in research under the specific research and technological development programme in the field of biomedicine and health (1990 to 1994), with particular emphasis on findings concerning ethical, legal and social aspects of the development of organ transplants;

12.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and Council.