Presumption of consent
The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation recognized the presumption of consent to organ donation as constitutional
The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation found no violations in the law on transplantation, according to which there is a presumption of consent to the removal of organs, according to a ruling published on the court's website.
Relatives of Moscow student Alina Sablina, who was involved in an accident in January 2014 and died in hospital, filed a complaint with the court. The parents found out that without their consent, some organs were removed from their daughter for transplantation. This angered the mother, who went to court, demanding compensation for moral damage from the hospital, but lost the process. The Sablins appealed to the Constitutional Court, seeing in the legislation on transplantation a violation of their rights, allowing doctors not to inform relatives about the planned removal of organs from a potential donor.
The Constitutional Court in its decision explained that the transplantation of human organs or tissues is a means of saving lives and restoring people's health. "The presumption of consent to the removal of organs is aimed at the development of donation and transplantation in the country, and does not violate the constitution," the court determined.
At the same time, he recalled that if it is known about the negative attitude to the transplantation of the deceased, his close relatives or legal representatives, then this procedure cannot be carried out.
The Court considers that the essence of the applicants' claims actually boils down to the need to switch from the existing model of presumption of consent to the removal of human organs after his death to the system of requested consent.
"However, the resolution of this issue – despite the fact that both the one and the other normative model is permissible both from the point of view of constitutional provisions and from the point of view of the provisions of international legal acts - is the prerogative of the federal legislator and does not fall within the competence of the Constitutional Court," the court explained.
The bill on organ donation
The definition also indicates that a draft law "On organ donation, parts of human organs and their transplantation" has already been developed and submitted to the government, which, for greater transparency of the transplantation process, provides for maintaining a register of organ donors, recipients and donor organs. When drafting the bill, serious attention was paid to the position of citizens and the expert community.
"The broad discussion of the draft law reflects the democratic process of developing a rational, reasonable and fair legislative solution. Only holding a free public discussion on such an important issue as the normative model of expressing consent to the removal of organs after death will allow us to develop a solution that meets constitutional goals and at the same time reflects ethical, moral and religious preferences," the court said.
"Interference of the Constitutional Court of Russia in this process – given the content of the discussion of the bill and the prospects for its adoption, as well as the sensitivity of this problem – would be premature at the moment and not consistent with the objectives of this discussion," the definition says.
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11.03.2015