The head of the Canadian Medical Association's Ethics Committee said she supports a recently introduced bill that would criminalize unethical organ transplants but worries it goes too far.
Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj recently introduced a private members bill which would amend the criminal code so that any Canadian that participated in an organ transplant involving stolen or purchased organs would face criminal penalties.
Wrzesnewskyj said he introduced the bill because of increasing reports of organ trafficking outside of Canada. Those reports include the recent media frenzy surrounding a kidney trafficking ring allegedly masterminded by Brampton, Ontario resident Amit Kumar.
Kumar is accused of heading a group that stole or purchased kidneys from poor farmers and labourers in India and sold them in highly profitable transplants carried out in clinics in India.
A report by two Canadians, former MP David Kilgour and prominent human rights lawyer David Matas, paints a compelling picture that thousands of Falun Gong practitioners imprisoned in China have been killed so their organs could be sold for transplants.
China is one of the countries some Canadians travel to when they can't get an organ in Canada. According the Kilgour/Matas report, a new organ can be had in a matter of weeks in China whereas in Canada it can take up to three years.
Dr. Bonnie Cham, chair of the Canadian Medical Association's Ethics Committee, said the CMA believes payments for organs and tissue should be prohibited but that the bill may cause patients to avoid doctors and result in injury.
"We do have, from time to time, patients returning from outside the country who've suddenly acquired an organ, and that poses an ethical dilemma for those physicians," said Cham.
Doctors may know the patient purchased an organ or received it in a country known for killing people for organs. However, they are still obligated to provide the patient with necessary transplant after-care, including prescribing anti-rejection medication to ensure the new organ is not rejected.
"It is very difficult to deny a patient care regardless of what has gotten them into that situation," said Cham.
She is concerned the bill's proposed punishment of 5 years to life in prison is too severe and that it will be difficult for patients to provide evidence that their organ was ethically obtained. Cham is also concerned patients may resort to self-treatment to avoid jail.
A press release announcing the bill said the legislation would impose consequences on those involved in illegal transplants that are equal to the horror of the crime they have committed. The legislation puts the onus on patients to prove their organ was legally obtained.
Cham said she would prefer incentives to make more organs available rather than clamping down on transplants or organ trafficking outside of Canada. She said the legislation should "really impress upon people that this is exploitation that is taking place, that tragic events are happening in other countries and that we should not be going to other countries for our own purposes."
"There is room for different types of consequences; people should be aware of the legislation and those consequences."
Cham also said she is supportive of legislation that does not allow patients to go abroad to purchase organs.
Additional reporting by Sharda Vaidyanath
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