Profile of hospital transplant ethics committees in the Philippines

In the Philippines, all transplant centers are mandated by the Department of Health (DOH) to have a Hospital Transplant Ethics Committee (HTEC) to ensure that donations are altruistic, voluntary and free of coercion/commercial transactions. This study was undertaken primarily to describe the organizational and functional profile of existing HTECs and identify areas for improvement. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. There was variation in their logistical arrangements (support from hospital, filing systems, office spaces), operations (length and frequency of meetings, number of referrals) and membership (composition, qualifications, occupation, training). The approval rate for donor-recipient pairs is high with the majority of cases made by living non-related donors. Appropriate reasons were cited for rejection. The perception of HTECs is that they are competent and confident in their decision-making. However, there is a need to standardize HTEC composition, provide operating procedures and additional training which can be done by the DOH.