REPUBLIC ACT NO. 349

AN ACT TO LEGALIZE PERMISSIONS TO USE HUMAN ORGANS OR ANY PORTION OR PORTIONS OF THE HUMAN BODY FOR MEDICAL, SURGICAL, OR SCIENTIFIC PURPOSES, UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Edition note. This page reproduces R.A. No. 349 as approved on May 17, 1949, from the Supreme Court E-Library. R.A. No. 1056, approved June 12, 1954, amended Sections 1 and 2 and added Section 2-A. Organ donation was later governed by R.A. No. 7170, the Organ Donation Act of 1991, approved January 7, 1992. R.A. No. 7885 (February 20, 1995) amended its Sections 9 and 10. Section 17 of R.A. No. 7170 repeals inconsistent laws. As of October 2026, this page preserves the original 1949 text for historical reference and does not consolidate those laws.

SECTION 1. A person may validly grant to a licensed physician, surgeon, known scientist, or any medical or scientific institution, authority to detach at any time after the grantor's death any organ, part or parts of his body and to utilize the same for medical, surgical or scientific purposes.

Similar authority may also be granted for the utilization for medical, surgical, or scientific purposes, of any organ, part or parts of the body which, for a legitimate reason, would be detached from the body of the grantor.

SEC. 2. The authorization referred to in section one of this Act must: be in writing; specify the person or institution granted the authorization ; the organ, part or parts to be detached, the specific use or uses of the organ, part or parts are to be employed; and, signed by the grantor and two disinterested witnesses.

If the grantor is a minor or an incompetent person, the authorization may be executed by his guardian with the approval of court; in default thereof, by the legitimate father or mother, in order, named. Married women may grant the authority referred to in section one of this Act, without the consent of the husband.

A copy of every such authorization must be furnished the Secretary of Health.

SEC. 3. An authorization granted in accordance with the provisions of this Act shall bind the executors, administrates and successors of the deceased and all members of his family.

SEC. 4. Any law or regulation inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed.

SEC. 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved, May 17, 1949.