Bulgaria’s government proposes amending organ transplantation law

Bulgaria’s Cabinet adopted on October 8 a decision approving amendments to the Organ, Tissue and Cell Transplantation Act, the government information service said.

The proposed change eliminates the requirement to express explicit written consent during a person’s lifetime to the removal of organs, tissues and cells after their death, which is recorded in their health insurance book.

The reasons for developing the project are related to the need to improve and update the regulatory framework in the field of electronic healthcare, the statement said.

In this regard, changes have been proposed to repeal the obligation of the National Health Insurance Fund to issue a health insurance card to every mandatorily insured person.

The proposal is part of the process of digitalisation in healthcare, which is implemented through the National Health Information System, which collects, processes and stores information on the health status of the population by creating and maintaining an electronic health record for each citizen and maintaining public and official electronic registers, databases and systems.

With amendments, every Bulgarian citizen will have the opportunity to directly express his or her will regarding the collection of organs, tissues and cells for transplantation after death to the Executive Agency for Medical Supervision, including by submitting a declaration of refusal of donation electronically, the statement said.

(Photo: government.bg)