The Malta Medical Students Association, with the support of the Malta Transplant Support Group, has started an online petition calling for changes to regulations regarding on organ donations and donor cards.

The association noted that, currently, the donor card alone does not give full permission for one's organs to be donated after death because the authorities would still need the consent of the next of kin. Relatives might not always agree to the donation and healthy organs that can save lives may end up not being donated.

The aim of the petition is to raise awareness about the current and proposed changes to the regulations governing organ donation in Malta.

The MMSA is proposing that persons over the age of eighteen should have the right to decide what they want to do with their organs after their death. This would mean that, being in possession of a donor card would mean that the individual expressed his informed will to donate his or her organs post-mortem and that this wish does not require anyone else's consent to be carried out.

"In other words, as medical students we wish to change the current regulations: the donor card should be considered as the exclusive form of permission from the deceased for the donation of their organs. In addition to this, the association would like to encourage the public to become organ donors."

The MMSA said it would also like to show its support towards the publishing publishing of a white paper on organ donation, which was proposed during the Budget 2015 by the Government of Malta. This white paper will lead to the first law on organ donation in Malta.

The petition can be viewed here.