HOTA

14 April 2014

Question No. 1840

Name of Person: Ms Sylvia Lim, MP for Aljunied GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Health what efforts are ongoing to educate the public on the effects of the compulsory donation provisions of the Human Organ Transplant Act so as to minimise distress to family members of patients who meet the criteria for compulsory harvesting of organs.

Answer

1.       The Human Organ Transplant Act (HOTA) facilitates Singaporean citizens and permanent residents (PR) who reach 21 years of age, to donate their kidneys, livers, hearts and corneas in the event of death, for the purpose of transplantation to save lives. Every year, the National Organ Transplant Unit (NOTU), sends a notification letter to all citizens and PRs who are about to turn 21 years old. This letter clearly explains the requirements and implications of HOTA.

2.                 We also organise on-going public education programmes such as the “Live On” campaign which started in 2008 to raise public awareness and understanding about organ donation. Last year, SingHealth Transplant organised the ‘Thanks a Million!’ project. Around one million paper roses were folded by over 18,000 school students and healthcare professionals from the various institutions in Singapore to show appreciation to the gift of life made by organ donors.

3.                 This year, the MOH has also planned a series of public education efforts including television commercials, newspaper advertisements, and roadshows to spread the message of organ donation and to encourage individuals to discuss their views and decisions on organ donation with family members and loved ones. Through this open sharing, we hope that the family members would then be more ready to accept and honour the organ donation decisions of their loved ones.

4.                 In addition to these public education efforts on the ground, our hospitals have teams comprising senior clinicians, medical social workers, nurses and transplant coordinators to engage family members of donors during the organ donation process. MOH also regularly conducts training programmes to equip these hospital staff with the skillsto communicate sensitively with the family members of donors, explaining the organ donation process, hearing the family’s concerns and clarifying any related issues that they may have.

5.                 We will continue to evolve our approach to engage Singaporeans about this important topic, so that the life-saving and life-changing benefits of organ transplantation can be better understood and embraced by family members and the society.