Health Minister: Prohibition of Iranian Organ Transplants to Foreigners is to Preserve the Dignity of Iranians

In response to conflicting reports about the death of an Afghan girl, the Health Minister announced on Tuesday that, according to the law, organ transplants from Iranians to foreigners are prohibited "to preserve the dignity of Iranians." According to Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi, the Health Minister in Hassan Rouhani's government, in a report by Fars News Agency on Tuesday, September 2, "about a year and a half ago, the Supreme Council of Transplantation legally approved that organ transplants from Iranians to foreigners are prohibited." Mr. Qazizadeh Hashemi defended this law, stating it is necessary for "preserving the dignity of Iranians." He added: "It is very ugly for foreigners to be allowed to come to Iran for organ transplants and buy the organs of impoverished Iranians and transplant them to themselves." According to the Iranian Health Minister, this law exists "in almost all parts of the world" except for a few countries, and governments "usually" do not allow their citizens to donate organs to foreigners. This official of the Islamic Republic stated that the law only allows the minister to make exceptions in "emergency cases." Although more than a year has passed since the approval of the organ transplantation law in Iran, the Health Minister was compelled to explain it in response to reports that emerged last week about an incident at Namazi Hospital in Shiraz, which led to denials. Young Journalists Club reported on Friday, August 29, citing the father of a 12-year-old Afghan girl named Latifeh Rahmani, that the doctors' refusal to perform the organ transplant in Shiraz caused Latifeh's death. Latifeh Rahmani was hospitalized at Namazi Hospital in Shiraz due to a "liver problem" and needed to receive an "organ" from her father. However, according to the father of this Afghan girl, "the doctors refused to perform the procedure due to the illegality of Latifeh and her family." While Fars and Tasnim news agencies also published similar reports about the Afghan girl's condition and the cause of her death, the Health Online website reported that the cause of death was due to the "unpreparedness of both [the father and daughter for the transplant]." This website quoted Ali Bahador, the Deputy of Treatment at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, stating that "this patient was in an unfavorable condition for transplantation and there was no possibility of transplanting from a deceased donor." This is a point that the Health Minister also recalled on Tuesday, stating that "the patient did not die due to the lack of an organ, and it was supposed that her father would donate part of his liver for her transplant, but unfortunately, there was not enough time, and the child died." He further accused the media of "carelessness" and said that "some tried to create a confrontation between the Iranian nation and the good people of Afghanistan."