KOHIMA: In a bid to strengthen medical research in the state, the Nagaland Assembly has passed the Nagaland Anatomy Bill 2023 on Thursday. The new legislation aims to streamline the supply of cadavers and facilitate human organ donations to hospitals and medical institutions in the state.
Currently, there exists no legal framework in Nagaland detailing the management of unidentified and unclaimed corpses, remarked Health & Family Welfare Minister, P Paiwang Konyak on the thrid day of the ongoing 14th legislative Assembly. Moreover, the state lacked legal provisions that cater to the voluntary donation of organs and bodies, either in whole or part, he informed.
The newly passed Nagaland Anatomy Bill 2023 addresses these gaps. It lays down provisions for the supply of unclaimed bodies and the pre-mortem donation of organs by individuals to medical establishments for educational and research purposes, encompassing anatomical examinations and dissections.
Further detailing the scope of the bill, Minister Konyak mentioned its empowerment of authorised officers. He said that authorised officials can now assume custody of unclaimed bodies found in hospitals, prisons, or public areas. Furthermore, the bill provides residents with the opportunity to document their wish to donate their body or specific organs posthumously, provided this intention is committed to writing before witnesses.
This legislative move comes at an opportune moment. September 1 marked the commencement of operations at Nagaland’s maiden medical college – the Nagaland Institute of Medical Science & Research.
In other significant legislative activities, the Assembly also gave its nod to the Nagaland Goods and Services Tax (Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2023, introduced by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio. This amendment intends to bolster the comprehensiveness of the Nagaland GST Act, 2017, stated Rio.
