Groups sign agreement on kidney transplants<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Religious leaders, government officials and
\ndoctors agreed on Saturday to permit transplants of kidneys from
\ncorpses.<\/p>\n
Fourteen representatives of religious organizations, the
\ngovernment and professional groups signed the \"Kemayoran
\nAgreement\" at the end of a three-day symposium on kidney
\ndonations held in Kemayoran, Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Chief of the Indonesian National Kidney Foundation, R.B.
\nSidabutar, said the five religions recognized in Indonesia --
\nIslam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Protestantism and Roman Catholicism --
\nhad been represented at the symposium.<\/p>\n
Among the professional organizations which signed the
\nagreement were the Indonesian Medical Association and the
\nAssociation of Emergency Doctors. The government was represented
\nby the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice.<\/p>\n
The signatories agreed that kidneys for transplants are in
\nshort supply in Indonesia as a result of the rising incidence of
\nkidney failure here.<\/p>\n
They further agreed to disallow trade in bodily organs and
\ndeclared that doctors have the authority to pronounce a patient
\nadmitted to them to be dead.<\/p>\n
Sidabutar said the agreement is expected to be followed by the
\nissuance of religious edicts in the near future regarding
\ntransplants of kidneys from deceased donors.<\/p>\n
He said that the signatories had agreed that, for a transplant
\noperation to be performed, there should be at least a 70 percent
\nchance that it will succeed.<\/p>\n
\"If (the probability of success) is less than that, the
\noperation should not be performed,\" he said, as quoted by Antara.<\/p>\n
According to Sidabutar, a kidney transplant from a living
\ndonor costs Rp 12 million (about US$5,300), while a transplant
\nfrom a corpse will cost only Rp 3 million. He said that
\nIndonesians who undergo kidney transplant operations in India
\nspend about Rp 50 million, of which about Rp 12 million goes to
\npurchase the kidney.<\/p>\n
Hasan Basri, who chairs the Indonesian Ulemas Council -- the
\numbrella organization of Indonesian Moslem groups -- said the
\ncouncil is currently preparing an edict on kidney transplants.<\/p>\n
So far, the influential council has allowed transplantation of
\ncorneas from deceased donors, Basri said. \"By the same token,
\nkidney transplants from corpses do not conflict with religious
\nrulings,\" he added.<\/p>\n
About 300 people took part in the symposium, including well-
\nknown experts Faissal A.M. Shaheen of Saudi Arabia, Zaki Morad of
\nMalaysia, and Pudji Rahardjo and Fahmi Saifuddin of Indonesia.
\n(pan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/groups-sign-agreement-on-kidney-transplants-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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