IN line with the continuous efforts to modernise Guyana’s healthcare system, a national donor and transplant registry is currently being established following the enactment of the Human Organ and Tissue Transplant bill.

Dr. Navindranauth Rambaran, the Director of Medical and Professional Services at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), revealed this information during the broadcast of the Ministry of Health’s “Health Matters” program.

Dr. Rambaran has indicated that the Human Organ and Tissue Transplant Act includes provisions regarding the creation of a donor list, allowing individuals to voluntarily join, as well as a recipient list. Additionally, he believes it is important to inform individuals with chronic renal disease about the process of being included on the recipient list.

“So, the agency is actively putting together both lists, with regards to the latter list that would be the ones who would potentially receive or be recipients of donations,” he said.

In addition, he stated that individuals with chronic kidney disease or end-stage renal disease have the potential to become recipients, although a suitability assessment process will be implemented.

In order to ensure clarity, the director stated that not all individuals with the disease are eligible to receive a donation. Consequently, a prioritisation process will be implemented, taking into account various factors.
The list will undergo regular updates to ensure that individuals are considered for organ donation as soon as organs become available.

“With regards to persons opting in on a list, there certainly will be a list available and it is more so an expression of your wishes so some persons wear it as a wristband or they have something in their wallet to say that they wish to be a donor, so both will be formalised,” he said.

In addition, Dr. Smolana Swan, an Intensive Care Specialist at GPHC, emphasised the significance of individuals engaging in conversations with their families regarding their potential desire to become organ donors.

She said, “A simple discussion at home with your family to let them know what your wishes might be in the event of an unexpected circumstance… in terms of your wishes and that in itself can make it so much easier on relatives when they have to make a decision whether to say yes or no to organ donations.”

The establishment of a National Donor and Transplant Registry is provided for in Part Three, Section 13 of the Human Organ and Tissue Transplant Bill 2021.

The registration will include the consents, amendments, and revocation of consents from adults regarding the donation of their organs, tissues, cells, or biofluids, among other things.

Moreover, individuals who are in need of organ, tissue, cell, and biofluid transplantation, as well as those who have received such treatments, will be included in the registration process. To fulfill this requirement, the Organ Tissue and Transplant Agency, as specified in the legislation, will assume the responsibility of managing, operating, and preserving the donor registry.

The act further sets out, “The Agency shall keep proper records of all its dealings in relation to its functions under this act which shall include annotations and inventories of organs, tissues, cells, cell explants, cell lines and biofluids and other substances available and those used and how used.”

In January 2022, the National Assembly approved this bill which establishes the legal framework for the extraction of human organs, tissues, cells, and biofluids for transplantation and utilisation in regenerative medicine, including cell therapy, gene therapy, and various other scientific and medical research purposes.