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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Asia Against Child Trafficking, a Southeast Asian regional network fighting against child
trafficking, lauds the Philippine Government for putting in effect the
Implementing Rules and Regulations on Organ Trafficking under Republic Act 9208
(Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003)

Quezon City, July 20, 2009 - Organ trafficking is one of the issues that we have been closely
following upon receiving reports about people giving up one of their kidneys in exchange for
money, examining how they became kidney donors, the manner of doing the laboratory
examinations prior to the actual removal of organ, and their health and socio-economic
conditions after giving up a kidney. These reports were verified through medical missions in
Quezon Province conducted by the Philippine Society of Nephrology.

We commend medical practitioners for doing their duty of helping patients with end-stage renal
disease. However, their good intention of saving lives should not be at the expense of the lives of
the marginalized people, which lead to the commercialization of kidney transplantation and
organ trafficking in the country. Organ transplantation, kidneys in particular, became a big
business in the Philippines that it earned the 5th place among the hotspots for organ trafficking.

With the approval of the IRR, we expect that this will put a curb on the harvesting of organs
from living non-related donors and push the Philippine Government to create a stronger deceased
donor program. We are also calling on the DSWD and DOH to search for the other victims of
organ trafficking and to establish a comprehensive after-care program for their welfare. We also
call on the DOJ, the law enforcement agencies and the courts to assist victims of organ
trafficking in seeking justice and redress and payment for damages to the life and health of these
victims. We strongly urge the medical professionals involved in the transplantation programs to
strictly implement the 1991 WHO Guiding Principles on human cell, tissue and organ
transplantation, and the 2008 Istanbul Declaration on Organ Trafficking and Transplant Tourism.

For more information, please contact:

Amihan V. Abueva
Regional Coordinator
Asia Against Child Trafficking
President, ECPAT Philippines
Member, Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, Representative for Child-focused NGOs
Cellphone: +639178018166; email: amihanabueva@gmail.com

Magnolia Eva H. Jacinto


Information Officer, Asia ACTs
Cellphone: +639178963713; email: magjacinto@gmail.com

Asia ACTs (Asia ACTs Against Child Trafficking) International Campaign Against Child Trafficking (ICaCT)
Rm. 312, 3rd level, Philippine Social Science Center, Commonwealth Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines
Tel: (632) 9290822 Fax: (632) 9290820 Email: asiaacts@pldtdsl.net www.asia-acts.org

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