Law n. 1805, passed by Congress last August and recently ratified,
establishes organ donation in Colombia as mandatory. "There is nothing wrong in it" said His Exc. Mgr. Juan Vicente Cordoba Villota, Bishop of the diocese of Fontibon and President of the Episcopal Commission for Life.
The Archbishop explained that the position of the Catholic Church on this law "does not contradict the doctrine, nor does it affect the dignity of the person, but on the contrary, it is pro-life, it is a work of charity and love toward someone who needs an organ", informs the note sent to Fides by the Colombian Episcopal Conference.
Mgr. Cordoba Villota however asked for strict controls in the new regulation on organ donation. The Church is decisively opposed to organ trafficking.
Law 1805 of 2016, passed by Congress provides that all Colombians to be organ donors, in order to meet the needs of more than 3,000 people who are waiting for a donor, unless they have expressed their refusal to do so.
Anyone may reject the legal presumption of being an organ or tissue donor by stating so in a written document that must be notarized and recorded at the National Institute of Health.
This is why Mgr. Córdoba Villota has called for more attention in rural areas, where there are no notaries and the population is more vulnerable.