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28 Feb 2011
Question No: 720
Question
Name of the Person: Dr Ahmad Mohd Magad
To ask the Minister for Health since the implementation of the Human Organ Transplant Act (HOTA) (a) what is the number of successful organ transplants; (b) how many Singaporeans have opted out of HOTA and, of those who have opted out, how many of them are Muslims; (c) how many applications for reimbursement of expenses incurred by live organ donors have the hospital transplant ethics committees received; and (d) how many applications were approved and how much was each applicant reimbursed on the average.
Reply
Reply From MOH
HOTA was enacted in 1987. As at end 2010, 52 hearts, 144 livers, 1080 kidneys and 1,181 corneas from deceased donors have been successfully transplanted. Many lives have been saved by HOTA.
2. The vast majority of Singaporeans support organ donation. Less than 3% of the potential HOTA population, or about 77,000 people, have opted out. As we do not ask objectors to indicate their religion, I do not know how many are Muslims.
3. As for the question on applications by living donors for reimbursements of expenses, I do not have the data in the format as requested. But last year, there were 156 applications for living donor organ transplant. Of these, 142 were approved by the Transplant Ethics Committees (TEC).
4. The majority of living donations are between family members and close relatives. In such cases, there is no reimbursement per se but the family pools its resources to pay for all the medical expenses.
5. For the others, most recipients would pay their donors’ hospitalization directly to the hospitals. The size of the medical bills would depend on the type of transplant, the class of ward and the extent of subsidy enjoyed by the patients.
6. In addition to the direct payment for hospitalization expenses, there would be regular follow-up expenses for the donors. These follow-ups usually cost about $100-300 per consultation. They would be picked up by the recipients in most cases.
7. There were a few cases where the recipients had also reimbursed their donors for loss of income. The average quantum of such reimbursement ranged from $500 to $750.
8. To support needy Singaporean patients, the National Kidney Foundation has set up the Live Donor Support Fund. So far it has received 11 applications and approved 10 of them. The 11th application is under review.