Minister of Health and Wellness Senator Lisa Cummins has warned that the growing prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) will limit Barbados’ ability to expand organ donation because many potential donors do not have healthy organs suitable for transplantation.

She raised the concern in the House of Assembly on Tuesday during the debate on the Human Tissue Transplant Bill, stressing that any conversation about organ transplantation must also address NCDs and the country’s ageing population.

“We’ve also talked about the fact that we have an aging society. We’ve talked about the fact that so many people are living longer and there’s even a conversation now about Barbados being the only country behind Japan to have the number of centenarians living in the country.”