PARLACEN approves initiative to include organ donor status on identity cards

Santo Domingo.- The Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) has approved an initiative to recommend including organ donor status information on the Identity Cards of citizens from member countries of the Central American Integration System (SICA), including the Dominican Republic. This proposal was presented by Dominican deputies Namibia Angola Didiez Ogando and Krimilda Acosta San Miguel during an ordinary session in Guatemala.

The initiative aims to streamline the processes of organ donation and transplantation, ensuring that decisions regarding organ donation are made efficiently and with proper information. Didiez Ogando, a physician, emphasized the critical nature of organ, tissue, and cell donations in saving lives and enhancing the quality of life for patients with terminal illnesses or irreversible organ damage. He asserted that having this information readily available on identity cards would optimize resources in emergencies and foster increased awareness and participation in organ donation efforts.

Following its approval, the initiative has been forwarded to PARLACEN’s Health and Social Security Commission for further consideration. The proposal stems from discussions at the First Central American and Caribbean Forum on Organ and Tissue Donation, held in the Dominican Republic in October 2022. It highlights that the lack of organ donors in Central America and the Caribbean leads to preventable deaths and calls for SICA governments to ethically maximize organ donations. The recommendation includes a specific field on Identity Cards to indicate organ donor status, contingent on the individual’s consent.