<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Some still unaware of changes to Hota
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Estelle Low and Kimberley Lim
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->The amendments to the Human Organ Transplant Act (Hota) were passed last Tuesday after a heated debate in Parliament.
But when the Sunday Times spoke to 25 patients in three kidney dialysis centres, 14 of them said they were not aware about the development.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Kidney recipient Tang Wee Sung is well
Former CK Tang chairman Tang Wee Sung is now well after undergoing a kidney-transplant operation in January.
A family spokesman told The Sunday Times last Friday that the 56-year-old's daily routine has gone back to normal and 'he is mindful of what he eats, avoiding oily and fatty foods'.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Four MPs abstained and one MP - Mr Christopher de Souza - said 'no' when the final vote was taken.
The changes included allowing for reimbursement to living kidney donors, lifting the age limit for cadaveric donors and higher penalties for organ trading.
The Sunday Times went to the dialysis centres last Friday to get reactions to the changes.
Six of the 25 patients said getting a kidney transplant is not uppermost on their minds.
Currently, only citizens and permanent residents between the ages of 21 and 60 are included under Hota.
The reasons cited by the six are fears of rejection of a new kidney, medical costs incurred and the risk of death.
The six patients had either undergone unsuccessful transplants - their bodies rejected the kidney in less than 10 years - or had friends who suffered from complications or died from transplants.
They said they would rather go for dialysis for the rest of their lives.
Mr Andy Yeo, 45, said he returned to dialysis in 2005 after his own kidney transplant in 1995 failed.
'The medicine that accompanied the transplant had many side-effects. A tumour grew on my liver and lumps grew on my fingers and throat,' said the man who is unemployed.
Mr Chua Boon Hee, 48, who started dialysis last year, said he will not consider a transplant.
'That deed of charity by another person is just too big for me to handle. I feel that I would not be able to pay the donor back enough, be it in physical or emotional reward,' he added.
Mr Chua, who is jobless, noted that if the donor were to fall ill after the transplant, he would feel 'very guilty'.
Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in Parliament that he will provide guidelines on reimbursement and these will be firmed up over the next few months.
Five out of the 25 patients The Sunday Times spoke to are currently on the waiting list for a transplant.
On the issue of how much they would reimburse a donor, all were unable to quote a figure, saying that the amount depends largely on whether the donor's kidney is a good match, as well as the recipient's financial status.
Mr Yap Kim Heen, 59, who is unemployed, thinks that the new amendment over reimbursement is a good move, as it may shorten his waiting time to find a donor.
'But it's very hard to say how much I would pay him. It has to be a 100 per cent match. I'm already 59, and time is running out for me,' he said.
Mr Toh Koon Chuan, 39, who has been on the waiting list for more than a year, said: 'How much I'm willing to pay really depends on the donor's demands. I'll see when the time comes.'
He added that patients from the lower-income group are disadvantaged in this respect. Mr Toh, an air-con technician who earns slightly above $1,000 a month, said he would not pay more than $20,000.
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Estelle Low and Kimberley Lim
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->The amendments to the Human Organ Transplant Act (Hota) were passed last Tuesday after a heated debate in Parliament.
But when the Sunday Times spoke to 25 patients in three kidney dialysis centres, 14 of them said they were not aware about the development.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Kidney recipient Tang Wee Sung is well
Former CK Tang chairman Tang Wee Sung is now well after undergoing a kidney-transplant operation in January.
A family spokesman told The Sunday Times last Friday that the 56-year-old's daily routine has gone back to normal and 'he is mindful of what he eats, avoiding oily and fatty foods'.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Four MPs abstained and one MP - Mr Christopher de Souza - said 'no' when the final vote was taken.
The changes included allowing for reimbursement to living kidney donors, lifting the age limit for cadaveric donors and higher penalties for organ trading.
The Sunday Times went to the dialysis centres last Friday to get reactions to the changes.
Six of the 25 patients said getting a kidney transplant is not uppermost on their minds.
Currently, only citizens and permanent residents between the ages of 21 and 60 are included under Hota.
The reasons cited by the six are fears of rejection of a new kidney, medical costs incurred and the risk of death.
The six patients had either undergone unsuccessful transplants - their bodies rejected the kidney in less than 10 years - or had friends who suffered from complications or died from transplants.
They said they would rather go for dialysis for the rest of their lives.
Mr Andy Yeo, 45, said he returned to dialysis in 2005 after his own kidney transplant in 1995 failed.
'The medicine that accompanied the transplant had many side-effects. A tumour grew on my liver and lumps grew on my fingers and throat,' said the man who is unemployed.
Mr Chua Boon Hee, 48, who started dialysis last year, said he will not consider a transplant.
'That deed of charity by another person is just too big for me to handle. I feel that I would not be able to pay the donor back enough, be it in physical or emotional reward,' he added.
Mr Chua, who is jobless, noted that if the donor were to fall ill after the transplant, he would feel 'very guilty'.
Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in Parliament that he will provide guidelines on reimbursement and these will be firmed up over the next few months.
Five out of the 25 patients The Sunday Times spoke to are currently on the waiting list for a transplant.
On the issue of how much they would reimburse a donor, all were unable to quote a figure, saying that the amount depends largely on whether the donor's kidney is a good match, as well as the recipient's financial status.
Mr Yap Kim Heen, 59, who is unemployed, thinks that the new amendment over reimbursement is a good move, as it may shorten his waiting time to find a donor.
'But it's very hard to say how much I would pay him. It has to be a 100 per cent match. I'm already 59, and time is running out for me,' he said.
Mr Toh Koon Chuan, 39, who has been on the waiting list for more than a year, said: 'How much I'm willing to pay really depends on the donor's demands. I'll see when the time comes.'
He added that patients from the lower-income group are disadvantaged in this respect. Mr Toh, an air-con technician who earns slightly above $1,000 a month, said he would not pay more than $20,000.
