Kidney and cornea donation: Sarah Islam should get state honour posthumously

Ruling Awami League MP Mahbub ul Alam Hanif on Thursday demanded that authorities give state honour to Sarah Islam Aishwarya for her posthumous kidney and cornea donation.

He made this appeal while participating in the discussion of the thanksgiving motion on the President's speech in Parliament.

He said that for the first time in the country, a kidney donated by a deceased person was transplanted on 18 January.

A 20-year-old teenager, Sarah, donated a kidney. Before her death, Sarah set another example.

She also donated his cornea.

"Thanks to his family. We think Sara should be given state honour. She set another precedent."

Hanif said that many people will come forward to give the dead bodies if they show respect and gratitude to Sarah.

He recommended reforming the process of human organ harvesting and creating opportunities for voluntary organ donation through strict monitoring.

He said that the religion Islam or existing laws do not prohibit organ donation.

"But now only close relatives can give it."

He urged the Ministry of Health to take measures in this regard.

Hanif said that there has been a lot of development during the tenure of this government in the last 15 years.

Roads have been developed, but accidents on the roads are widespread.

The reason for this is the drivers. Many of them do not know rules, policies and traffic laws.

He demanded a change in the licensing system.

Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumdar taking part in the same discussion told Parliament that 19.94 lakh tonnes of rice are stored in the government godowns till 1 February.

The food minister said that during the BNP period, coarse rice was sold at Tk50 to Tk55.

At that time, he claimed, a female worker would get a salary of Tk40-45. Men used to get Tk60-70 as wages.

"If you buy one kg of rice, you don't have money to buy oil and salt. Now if coarse rice is charged Tk48 or Tk50. Now a worker gets Tk400-500 per day. In that case, they earn five times, six times, seven times or eight times more."