Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 18:

In page 32, to delete line 4 and substitute the following: “(e) at least 2 shall be patient advocates and, of those 2, at least one may be a donor patient advocate.”.

I am moving an amendment to section 27 so that there are two patient representatives on the independent panel for organ donation, at least one of whom may be a patient donor advocate. This doubles the number of patient advocates on the independent panel and is to ensure that there are members of the panel with personal experience of the organ donation process who can offer real insight into the subject and represent the most important people in this process. This arises from discussions with colleagues on Committee Stage. It was also a request of the Irish Kidney Association that there be a patient representative or representatives with experience on the donor or recipient side. This amendment aims to accommodate that within the Bill.

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