Organ donation in Malta : what’s new?

Abstract

Malta transposed Directive 2010/45/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2010 on standards of quality and safety of human organs intended for transplantation (European Parliament and Council, 2010) on 12th October 2012 through Legal Notice 345 of 2012, entitled Organ Transplants (Quality and Safety) Regulations, 2012, Subsidiary Legislation to the Human Blood and Transplants Act (Cap483), enacted in 2006. This long awaited legislation provides a firm legal backing for transplantation services that are structured such as to ensure health and safety to both donor and recipient. The regulations apply to practices and procedures along the entire pathway from donation to transplantation of solid organs, and even beyond, to the collection of post transplant medical data. Malta has a good track record of safe working practices in transplant services. These have been offered since the early 1980’s, initially limited to corneal transplants, but soon followed by the first kidney transplant in 1983. Heart transplants are performed once a year, with the first being in 1996. (Transplant Support Group, Malta, 2013) Patients requiring liver transplants are referred to the UK while recently, in 2011, an agreement was reached with Palermo, Sicily for a lung transplant service. (ACCORD, 2012)