Amendments to the HIV Infection Control and Patient Rights Protection Act (人類免疫缺乏病毒傳染防治及感染者權益保障條例) that allow organ transplants between HIV-positive people cleared the legislative floor yesterday.
The amendments would allow HIV-positive people to donate organs, bodily fluids, tissue or cells to other HIV carriers as long as the recipients sign an agreement to undergo the transplant.
The organs, bodily fluids, tissue and cells of people with HIV are otherwise unusable, and those who offer to donate such body parts to HIV-negative people would risk a fine of between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000, one amendment says.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The amendments were proposed while taking into consideration the need for organ transplants by HIV-positive people and after referencing the US’ HIV Organ Policy Equity Act and successful organ transplants in the UK between HIV-positive people, the Executive Yuan said, explaining its version of the legislation.
As of Sept. 30 last year, there were 33,850 HIV-positive people in Taiwan, all of whom could be potential donors or recipients for organ transplants, said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Arthur Chen (陳宜民), who helped push for the legislation.
Apart from the US and the UK, Spain has also allowed organ transplants between HIV-positive people, he said.
Japan, despite not having legalized organ transplants between HIV carriers, has had six successful such operations, which had no discernible difference in the survival rate of recipients compared with HIV-negative people, he added.
One of the amendments, initiated by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀), says that although people with HIV are legally required to inform paramedics when seeking medical help that they are HIV-positive or risk a penalty, those who are unconscious, in a state of decreased consciousness or whose privacy would be infringed upon as a result of disclosing such information would be exempted from the regulation.
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