Watch: Church backs organ donation under strict ethical safeguards
Bishops stress 'free and informed consent', dignity and ban on organ commercialisation
The Church has pledged its support for organ donation as long as it is voluntary and “carried out under clear ethical conditions”.
In their pastoral letter for Lent, Archbishop Charles Scicluna, together with the Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Galea Curmi and Bishop of Gozo Anton Teuma, reflected on organ donation as a gesture in favour of life, “not only because it saves lives but also because it improves the quality of life of recipients and those around them”.
They stressed that “free and informed consent” is essential and “solid moral safeguards” must be in place.
Death must be rigorously certified, “there must be a clear separation between the medical team treating the patient and the transplant doctors,” and “human organs must never be sold or bought,” they added.
“We encourage you to seek reliable medical and ethical information, and to speak with healthcare professionals who respect human life at every stage. The Church invites every person to make a decision according to their conscience, after full information, serious reflection and prayer,” the Bishops said.
Earlier this month, academics and senior medical staff backed plans to allow organ donation after circulatory death. Currently, organ retrieval is only permitted following “brain death”, when all brain functions have irreversibly ceased.
A legal reform to a “DCD” Model (Donation after Circulatory Death) would allow organs to be harvested after circulatory death, when the heart and lungs stop functioning permanently. This would increase the number of available organs by as much as 50 per cent.
By the end of 2025, more than 90 people in Malta were waiting for kidney transplants alone.
“Every name on a waiting list represents a human face, a family, a story of hope sustained by love and the solidarity of others,” the bishops said, as they urged everyone to “be Good Samaritans” and register as organ donors.
The bishops insisted there should be a “clear distinction” between the medical team that is caring for the patient and the doctors effecting the transplant “so that the integrity of the holistic treatment that should be given to the patient until death is safeguarded as long as this treatment is beneficial”.
They added the dignity of the donor must be upheld with the body treated “with reverence” and funeral rites respected.
“Any form of commercialisation of the body or of a part of it is contrary to human dignity. The body and its organs must remain within the logic of gift, not market exchange,” the bishops continued.
They encouraged “honest and open dialogue” to address any fears or misunderstandings about organ donations.
A public consultation on DCD amendments to the Human Organs, Tissues and Cell Donation Act closed recently, with support from academics, clinicians, and the Church under ethical safeguards.