Organ Donation Act of the Philippines

Core definitions and medical death standard

“Organ Bank Storage Facility” means a facility licensed, accredited or approved to store human bodies or parts thereof under applicable law (Section 2).
“Decedent” means a deceased individual and includes a still-born infant or fetus (Section 2).
“Testator” means an individual who makes a legacy of all or part of his body (Section 2).
“Donor” means an individual authorized under the Act to donate all or part of the body of a decedent (Section 2).
“Hospital” means a hospital licensed, accredited or approved under applicable law and includes a government-operated hospital (Section 2).
“Part” includes transplantable organs, tissues, eyes, bones, arteries, blood, other fluids, and other portions of the human body (Section 2).
“Person” includes individuals, corporations, estates, trusts, partnerships, associations, the Government and its subdivisions/agencies/instrumentalities (including GOCCs), and any other legal entity (Section 2).
“Physician” or “Surgeon” means a physician or surgeon licensed or authorized to practice medicine under Philippine law (Section 2).
“Immediate Family” of the decedent means the persons enumerated in Section 4(a) (Section 2).
“Death” means either: (1) irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions, or (2) irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain including the brain stem (Section 2).
Death is determined by acceptable medical practice and diagnosed separately by the attending physician and a second consulting physician, both appropriately qualified and experienced; death is recorded in the patient’s medical record (Section 2).

What bodies and parts may be donated

Any individual who is at least eighteen (18) years of age and of sound mind may give by legacy to take effect after death all or part of his body for purposes specified in Section 6 (Section 3).
Donations after death may be authorized by persons in Section 4(a) in the order of priority stated, subject to the absence of actual notice of contrary intentions by the decedent and the absence of actual notice of opposition by an immediate family member (Section 4).
Authorized persons in Section 4(a) may make the donation after or immediately before death (Section 4(b)).
An authorized legacy or donation authorizes examinations necessary to assure medical acceptability for the intended purposes (Section 5).

Purposes and who may receive

Hospitals, physicians or surgeons may receive donated bodies/parts for medical or dental education, research, advancement of medical or dental science, therapy or transplantation (Section 6).
Accredited medical or dental schools, colleges or universities may receive for education, research advancement of medical or dental science, or therapy (Section 6).
Organ bank storage facilities may receive for medical or dental education, research, therapy, or transplantation (Section 6).
A specified individual may receive for therapy or transplantation needed by him (Section 6).

Priority of family authority and hospital duty

Donations by the authorized immediate family are permitted in the priority order: spouse; son or daughter of legal age; either parent; brother or sister of legal age; guardian over the person of the decedent at the time of death (Section 4(a)).
Hospitals authorized to receive organ donations or conduct transplantation must train qualified personnel and their staff to introduce the program to the donor decedent’s relatives in a humane and delicate manner, as enumerated in Section 4 (Section 7).
Hospitals must accomplish the necessary form or document as proof of compliance with the training requirement (Section 7).

Creating, executing, and delivering legacies

A legacy under Section 3 may be made by will and becomes effective upon the death of the testator without waiting for probate (Section 8).
Even if the will is not probated or is declared invalid for testamentary purposes, the legacy remains valid and effective to the extent executed in good faith (Section 8).
A legacy under Section 3 may also be made in any document other than a will, and becomes effective upon the testator’s death; it binds the executor/administrator, heirs, assigns, successors-in-interest, and all members of the family (Section 8).
A non-will legacy document must be signed by the testator in the presence of two (2) witnesses, who must also sign in the testator’s presence; if the testator cannot sign, signing for him must be done at his direction and in his presence in the presence of two (2) witnesses who sign in the testator’s presence (Section 8).
Delivery of the non-will legacy document during the testator’s lifetime is not necessary to make it valid (Section 8).
A legacy may specify a legatee or be made without specifying a legatee (Section 8).
If a specified legatee is not available at the time and place of death, the attending physician or surgeon may accept the legacy as legatee unless the testator expressed otherwise (Section 8).
If no legatee is specified, the attending physician or surgeon may accept the legacy as legatee upon or following death (Section 8).
A physician who becomes a legatee under the above rule must not participate in removal or transplantation procedures for the decedent’s body parts (Section 8).
The testator may designate in the will, card, or other document the surgeon or physician who will carry out the procedures; if no designee exists or is not available, the legatee or other authorized persons may authorize any surgeon or physician for the purpose (Section 8).
If a legacy or donation is made to a specified legatee/donee, the will/card/other document (or an executed copy) may be delivered to the legatee/donee by the testator/donor or an authorized representative immediately after death to expedite procedures (Section 11).
The will/card/other document (or executed copy) may be deposited in any hospital or organ bank storage facility that accepts it for safekeeping or facilitation of post-death procedures (Section 11).
Upon request of any interested party upon or after the testator’s death, the person in possession must produce the document for verification (Section 11).

Executing and authorizing donations for transplantation

A donation by an authorized person under Section 4(a) is sufficient if it complies with the formalities of a donation of a movable property (Section 9).
If no authorized person under Section 4(a) is available and no document of organ donation exists, the physician in charge, the hospital head, or a designated officer of the hospital with custody of a decedent classified as accident, trauma, or other medico-legal cases may authorize, in a public document, removal for transplantation to a living person, provided the hospital exerted reasonable efforts within forty-eight (48) hours to locate the nearest relative listed in Section 4 or the decedent’s guardian at the time of death (Section 9).
For all donations, death from whose body an organ is removed for transplantation must be diagnosed separately and certified by two (2) qualified physicians who must not be: (a) members of the medical team effecting the removal; (b) the physician attending to the recipient; or (c) the head of hospital or the designated officer authorizing removal (Section 9).

Removal and transplantation only by authorized practitioners

Removal and/or transplantation of any organ may be done only by authorized medical practitioners in a hospital for organs authorized under Section 5 (Section 10).

Amending, revoking, and rejecting donation/legacy

A testator or donor may amend or revoke a delivered legacy/donation to a specified legatee/donee by: (a) executing and delivering to the legatee/donee a signed statement; or (b) an oral statement made in the presence of two (2) other persons communicated to the legatee/donee; or (c) a statement made during terminal illness or injury addressed to an attending physician and communicated to the legatee/donee; or (d) a signed card or document found on the testator/donor or his effects (Section 12(a)).
A legacy/donation not delivered to a specified legatee/donee may be revoked by the manner in Section 12(a) or by destruction, cancellation, or mutilation of the document and all executed copies (Section 12(b)).
A legacy made by will may be amended or revoked by the manner provided for amendment or revocation of wills, or by the Section 12(a) methods (Section 12).
The legatee or donee may accept or reject the legacy or donation; if the legacy/donation is of a part, the legatee/donee must effect removal upon death prior to embalming, avoiding unnecessary mutilation (Section 13(a)).
After removal of the part, custody of the remainder of the body vests in the surviving spouse, next of kin, or other persons under obligation to dispose of the body of the decedent (Section 13(a)).
Persons who act in good faith in accordance with the Act are not liable for damages in any civil action and are not subject to prosecution in any criminal proceeding under the Act (Section 13(b)).

Post-death clinical process and examinations

A legacy or donation authorizes examinations necessary to assure medical acceptability of the legacy/donation for intended purposes (Section 5).
For purposes of the Act, an autopsy must be conducted on the cadaver of accident, trauma, or other medico-legal cases immediately after pronouncement of death to determine qualified and healthy human organs for transplantation and/or to further medical science (Section 5).

International sharing of human organs and tissues

Sharing of human organs or tissues is done only through exchange programs duly approved by the Department of Health (Section 14).
Foreign organ or tissue bank storage facilities and similar establishments must grant reciprocal rights to their Philippine counterparts to draw human organs or tissues at any time (Section 14).

Public information and regulation-making

The Department of Health, cooperating with institutions and organizations involved in donation and transplantation (including the National Kidney Institute, civic and non-government health organizations, and other health-related agencies), must undertake a public information program to maximize benefits from the Act (Section 15).
The Secretary of Health must endeavor to persuade all health professionals, both government and private, to make an appeal for human organ donation (Section 15).
The Secretary of Health, after consultation with health professionals (government and private) and non-government health organizations, must promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement the Act (Section 16).

Repeal, separability, and effectivity

All laws, decrees, ordinances, rules and regulations, executive or administrative orders, and other presidential issuances inconsistent with the Act are repealed, amended, or modified accordingly (Section 17).
The provisions of the Act are deemed separable; if any provision is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions remain in full force and effect (Section 18).
The Act takes effect after fifteen (15) days following publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation (Section 19).

Amendment note to Section 10

Republic Act No. 7170 includes an amendment reference stating that Republic Act No. 7885 amends Section 10 (and this section’s amendment notice appears with Section 10).