Organ transplantation may not be carried even if the individual has filled in a donor card, if relatives do not give the required consent. The government, thus, needs to establish who the corpse belongs to.

A joint meeting is being held between the social affairs and health committee to discuss the drafting of the organ transplant bill.

Reverend Profs Emmanuel Agius said that Austria is the only country in the world where the corpse belongs to the government. In the United Kingdom, it is the hospital which owns the cadaver, if the individual passes away in the health institution. A donor card does not pose a legal obligation on the relatives to agree to it. Patients who suffer from a mental disorder are not allowed to fill in a donor card. Profs Agius said that in cases where relatives are in doubt, counselling sessions should be provided, and the efforts to persuade the relatives should be carried out. The Oviedo Convention states that guardians can give consents on organ donation in some cases.

He stressed that legislation must follow European directives on safety and ethics, and guidelines for declaration of deaths needs to be clarified, adding that the process needs to be analysed on a case by case basis, because of complications that might arise.  If the government decides on introducing non-heart beating organ transplant, than a proper awareness campaign needs to be set up, to educate the public and sort out issues which are unclear.

Members of the Live Organ Transplant Advisory Committee (LOTAC) said that altruism of relatives to cooperate is usually generated during high emotions, and most often, relatives of victims of accidents are more likely to collaborate.