Federal Decree by Law No. (25) of 2023 Regarding the Donation and Transplantation of Organs and Tissues
Federal Decree by Law No. (25) of 2023
The decree-law regulates donation and transplantation of human organs and tissues, licensing of transplant facilities and professionals, living and deceased donation, consent, medical evaluation, allocation, transport, national coordination, prohibitions, non-human transplantation and penalties.
Overview
What this legislation covers
The decree-law regulates donation and transplantation of human organs and tissues, licensing of transplant facilities and professionals, living and deceased donation, consent, medical evaluation, allocation, transport, national coordination, prohibitions, non-human transplantation and penalties.
Who or what it applies to
- Living and deceased organ/tissue donors.
- Recipients of human organs/tissues.
- Licensed transplant hospitals, laboratories and health establishments.
- Physicians and professionals performing retrieval or transplantation.
- National Centre, Ministry and local Health Authorities.
- Manufacturers/health establishments involved in permitted non-human/engineered organ technologies where separately authorised.
Key points
Important points at a glance
Issued on 19 September 2023, published in Official Gazette No. 760 and effective from 29 October 2023.
Replaced the earlier 2016 federal organ-transplant framework.
Applies to human organ/tissue donation and transplantation and, through later provisions, certain non-human organ/tissue transplantation.
Requires licensing of health establishments and professionals conducting covered transplant activities.
Creates/assigns competences to a National Centre coordinating donation and transplantation.
Regulates voluntary donation by living persons and requires medical evaluation and informed consent.
Provides special controls for donation between living persons.
Regulates bone-marrow and other tissue donation within the statutory framework.
Sets conditions for donation after death and determination/verification of death under applicable medical rules.
Prohibits commercial dealing and trafficking in human organs/tissues.
Protects donor/recipient confidentiality and medical rights.
Regulates allocation, transport and transfer of organs/tissues between health establishments and across borders.
Contains a framework for non-human organs/tissues, including engineered/animal-origin organs, subject to additional Cabinet controls.
Provides inspection, enforcement and penalties.
Cabinet Resolution No. (16) of 2026 is the active Executive Regulation, effective 21 April 2026.
Current medical standards and local Health Authority licensing rules must be applied alongside the federal framework.
Practical explanation
Understanding the law
Purpose and practical effect
The decree-law regulates donation and transplantation of human organs and tissues, licensing of transplant facilities and professionals, living and deceased donation, consent, medical evaluation, allocation, transport, national coordination, prohibitions, non-human transplantation and penalties.
Who and what the law applies to
- Living and deceased organ/tissue donors.
- Recipients of human organs/tissues.
- Licensed transplant hospitals, laboratories and health establishments.
- Physicians and professionals performing retrieval or transplantation.
- National Centre, Ministry and local Health Authorities.
- Manufacturers/health establishments involved in permitted non-human/engineered organ technologies where separately authorised.
Important definitions
- Human Organ / Tissue: body organ or tissue falling within the statutory definitions.
- Donor: a living person or deceased person from whom an organ/tissue is lawfully donated under the statute.
- Recipient: the patient receiving transplantation.
- National Centre: the national organ-donation/transplant coordination body under the law.
- Non-Human Organ / Tissue: animal-derived, engineered or other non-human organ/tissue defined by the law.
Main rights, duties and legal consequences
- Living donation must be voluntary and based on legally valid informed consent.
- Donors and recipients are entitled to medical evaluation, safety and confidentiality protections.
- Commercial purchase/sale of organs and tissues is prohibited.
- Only licensed institutions/professionals may perform regulated retrieval/transplant procedures.
- Use of non-human organs/tissues requires separate statutory licensing and safety controls.
Practical compliance / procedure checklist
- Confirm the facility and professionals hold the required transplant licences.
- Complete donor/recipient clinical assessment and legal-consent documentation.
- Use National Centre allocation/registry procedures where required.
- Confirm legal death-determination and consent requirements before deceased donation.
- Maintain chain-of-custody and transport documentation for organs/tissues.
- Use the 2026 Executive Regulation for current operational details and forms.
- For non-human organs/tissues, obtain the additional approvals before any clinical use.
Important dates and deadlines
- Issued: 19 September 2023.
- Effective: 29 October 2023.
- Executive Regulation No. (16) of 2026: effective 21 April 2026.
- Clinical notification, allocation, record and reporting periods depend on the relevant article/regulation and medical standard.
Enforcement and legal exposure
Unauthorised retrieval/transplantation, commercial organ dealing, falsification, confidentiality breaches and other violations can attract severe administrative and criminal consequences. Any live transplant decision requires direct use of the statute, Executive Regulation and Health Authority standards.
Practical scenarios
- A living donor must complete independent suitability and consent safeguards before donation proceeds.
- A hospital cannot carry out transplant services solely because it is a licensed hospital; transplant-specific licensing is required.
- A cross-border transfer requires compliance with National Centre, Health Authority and import/export rules.
- An engineered or animal-origin organ cannot be used simply because the technology exists; the law requires specific licensing and additional Cabinet controls.
Current-law interaction
The principal decree-law is active. Cabinet Resolution No. (16) of 2026 is the current Executive Regulation and significantly updates operational implementation from 21 April 2026.
Research status
Legal-status and source verification for this package was carried out on 2026-09-07. UAE federal legislation often operates together with Cabinet resolutions, Executive Regulations, ministerial decisions, local Health/competent-authority rules and later amendments. The current official source should be rechecked before a live filing, licence application, clinical decision, enforcement step or court submission.
Practical notes
- Use the current official Arabic text for interpretation and application; the English package is a structured legal-information rendering.
- Verify the latest consolidated law, Executive Regulation, Cabinet/ministerial decisions and relevant Emirate-level rules immediately before case-specific reliance.
- Exact penalties, thresholds, exceptions, consent rules and procedural deadlines must be checked against the current article and implementing instrument.
- The supplied cover artwork is editorial artwork and does not constitute an official UAE Government publication or legal-status certificate.
Legislation text
Text and provisions
Official-text notice. This file is a comprehensive structured English legal-information rendering based on the sources listed in this package. It is not represented as the controlling verbatim English text. The official Arabic text prevails for interpretation and application. Exact offences, penalties, thresholds, exceptions, licences, consent requirements and deadlines must be checked against the current official article and implementing instrument.
Federal Decree by Law No. (25) of 2023 Regarding the Donation and Transplantation of Organs and Tissues
Verified legislative metadata
| Instrument | Federal Decree by Law No. (25) of 2023 |
|---|---|
| Issued | 2023-09-19 |
| Effective | 2023-10-29 |
| Status | Active / in force |
| Official Gazette | Official Gazette No. 760 |
| Official source | UAE legislation source |
Purpose and scope
The decree-law regulates donation and transplantation of human organs and tissues, licensing of transplant facilities and professionals, living and deceased donation, consent, medical evaluation, allocation, transport, national coordination, prohibitions, non-human transplantation and penalties.
Structured legislative map
Definitions and scope
Defines donation, transplantation, organs, tissues, donor, recipient, health establishment and competent authorities.
Objectives
Protects donors/recipients, promotes safe transplantation and prevents trafficking/commercialisation.
Licensing
Requires health establishments and doctors/professionals to hold the necessary transplant licences.
National Centre
Assigns national coordination, registry, allocation, standards and cooperation functions.
Living donation
Regulates donor capacity, consent, medical assessment and protection.
Medical examinations
Requires suitability testing and independent medical safeguards.
Donor care
Provides care/protection obligations related to donation.
Bone marrow / tissues
Provides specialised rules for covered tissue and marrow donation.
Deceased donation
Regulates consent, determination of death and post-mortem retrieval conditions.
Allocation and transplantation
Requires fair, clinically appropriate and regulated allocation/implantation.
Transport and transfer
Regulates movement of organs/tissues between facilities and across borders.
Commercialisation prohibitions
Prohibits sale, purchase, brokerage and other unlawful material benefit.
Confidentiality and data
Protects medical and identity information subject to lawful registry/authority use.
Non-human organs/tissues
Allows regulated xenotransplantation/engineered-organ pathways only under specified licensing and Cabinet controls.
Inspection and offences
Provides regulator powers and penalties for breaches.
Executive Regulation
Cabinet Resolution No. (16) of 2026 provides current implementation details.
Key statutory points
- Issued on 19 September 2023, published in Official Gazette No. 760 and effective from 29 October 2023.
- Replaced the earlier 2016 federal organ-transplant framework.
- Applies to human organ/tissue donation and transplantation and, through later provisions, certain non-human organ/tissue transplantation.
- Requires licensing of health establishments and professionals conducting covered transplant activities.
- Creates/assigns competences to a National Centre coordinating donation and transplantation.
- Regulates voluntary donation by living persons and requires medical evaluation and informed consent.
- Provides special controls for donation between living persons.
- Regulates bone-marrow and other tissue donation within the statutory framework.
- Sets conditions for donation after death and determination/verification of death under applicable medical rules.
- Prohibits commercial dealing and trafficking in human organs/tissues.
- Protects donor/recipient confidentiality and medical rights.
- Regulates allocation, transport and transfer of organs/tissues between health establishments and across borders.
- Contains a framework for non-human organs/tissues, including engineered/animal-origin organs, subject to additional Cabinet controls.
- Provides inspection, enforcement and penalties.
- Cabinet Resolution No. (16) of 2026 is the active Executive Regulation, effective 21 April 2026.
- Current medical standards and local Health Authority licensing rules must be applied alongside the federal framework.
Amendments and interaction with other legislation
The principal decree-law is active. Cabinet Resolution No. (16) of 2026 is the current Executive Regulation and significantly updates operational implementation from 21 April 2026.
Legal-reading rule
This package is designed for website publication, internal research and client-facing orientation. It maps the law's operative subject matter and current regulatory context, but a paraphrase cannot replace the statutory wording. Where the outcome depends on a defined term, licence category, medical condition, consent requirement, penalty, exception, transition rule or deadline, open the current Arabic article and the relevant Executive Regulation or competent-authority decision before relying on it.
Verification
Official source & references
Official legislation sourcehttps://uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/2135Open ↗Official Gazette: Official Gazette No. 760
This page is a research and educational resource. Legislation can be amended, repealed, supplemented by regulations or interpreted by courts and authorities. Obtain advice before relying on it for a live matter.