2018-03-27

Gaza

Gaza

Legal memo to: 
His Excellency Attorney General, Adviser Dia’ Al-Din Madhoun/ Gaza
Deputy Minister of Justice, Dr. Mohammad Al-Nahhal/ Gaza
Deputy Minister of Health, Dr. Youssef Abu-Rish/ Gaza

Complaint from: 
Citizen Safa’ Abdullatif Al-Harazeen

Subject: 
“The Right to Life should never be Restricted by Unlawful Bureaucratic Procedures”

Memo date: 
27/03/2018

Brief description:
On 12/03/2018, MUSAWA received a complaint from the complainant, who suffers from kidney failure, stating that her husband Amir Barash is willing to donate his kidney to her, and the medical examinations (medical report attached to the complaint) proved the match between her husband and herself, and thus all conditions necessary to complete the process of donation and save the complainant’s life were met. Nevertheless, the High Commission for Organ Transplantation rejected her application under the pretext that the Commission’s regulations require that the couple be married for at least 3 years, in order to be sure that the husband is donating his kidney free of charge, as a way to prevent crimes of organ transplantation! Ignoring the fact that the text in the regulations relates only to marriage of different nationalities and exempts marriage of the same nationality. 

Furthermore, the Commission turned a blind eye to the cases of absolute necessity, which would require a special procedure of establishing a committee headed by a judge to study the case. If it was found to be a case of absolute necessity, the transfer is allowed without any condition or restriction. The competent authorities are even obliged to provide a donor in the case of absence. MUSAWA sees that the said rejection is contrary to the provisions of the law, and is beyond the scope of the Commission’s regulations. It may be even considered a violation of the complainant’s right to life. In addition, it goes against the explicit provisions of the Decree-Law No. (6) of 2017 on the regulation of the transfer and transplantation of organs, Article (22) in particular. Not only would the implementation of the Commission’s decision seriously affect the life of the complainant as well as other citizens with a similar health condition, but it would also aggravate the current health crisis of the Gaza Strip.

MUSAWA’s intervention:
In its memo, MUSAWA demands that a professional and competent investigation committee be established to take the appropriate legal action, in guarantee of the complainant’s right to treatment and life as quickly as possible, and the same applies to all of the citizens who suffer from kidney diseases. Anyone who hinders treatment must be held accountable.