Deputy Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw has urged a review of financial assistance for families unable to afford overseas medical care, warning that gaps in support are costing lives as parliament considered the landmark transplant legislation.

In debate on the Human Tissue Transplant Bill in the House of Assembly, Bradshaw said the legislation should be accompanied by broader reforms to ensure no Barbadian is denied access to life-saving care because treatment is unavailable locally.

Sharing the story of a child who had been unable to access treatment for her condition for years, Bradshaw stated: “I also would want that the honorable minister and her team review the financial support available for families that are connected to this child and others who cannot afford to go outside of Barbados for these very rare cases for intervention, and we need to look at these welfare cases and scrutinize these cases, because sometimes the fact that we cannot do the interventions in Barbados is actually costing the life for a child or an adult who might be able to access that care outside of Barbados.”