The UAE allows transplantation of human organs and tissues from both living donors and the deceased in accordance with the provisions indicated in the Federal Decree Law No. 25 of 2023 regarding Donation and Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues (in Arabic, PDF, 3.74 MB).

This Decree Law aims to:

• regulate and develop transplantation operations
• ban human organs’ and tissues’ trafficking
• regulate the process of donating organs and tissues
• prevent exploitation of the patient’s or the donor’s needs.

Trafficking of human organs is also prohibited under Federal Decree by Law No. 24 of 2023 on Combating Human Trafficking.

As part of the National Program for Organ Donation and Transplantation, Ministry of Health and Prevention launched HAYAT, a registry of national donors. Anyone in the UAE regardless of his/her nationality can become a donor or transplant recipient. The HAYAT registry is linked to each individual’s Emirates ID.

Prohibitions under the law

The Decree Law prohibits the sale of human organs and tissues or other body parts in any way for the purpose of transplantation. It also bans unlicensed advertising of transplantation of human organs, tissues and body parts.

Conditions for living donors

Living donors must be legally competent persons. They should unconditionally express that they are donating their organs by their own free will. It should also be confirmed from an authorised medical committee that no harm can fall on them from donation.

Living donors can unconditionally backtrack on their decision at any time; however, they may not recover a donated organ once it is removed.

Conditions for deceased donors

For the deceased, it is not permissible to remove an organ unless the donor’s wish is conclusively confirmed before death and formally documented either by the notary public or through the Emirates Identity card. Additionally, organ removal can only be done following a confirmation of death in line with the Ministerial Decision No 19 of 2022 Concerning the Criteria for the Diagnosis of Death (PDF, 1 MB). 

By law, the identity of both the donor and recipient must remain confidential.