BOTH foreigners and locals who donate their kindeys should be allowed the same compensation under new laws designed to increase the pool of organs here, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan on Tuesday.

'We should not have double standsards,' he told more than 300 grassroots leaders last night during the first dialogue on proposed changes to the Human Organ Transplant Act (Hota).

When the suggestion was first made to allow for compensation, it was meant for locals only. This later eased to include foreigners under the law. But this is the first time the minister has said that the compensation for all must be on the same footing.

The change in law will not hard-wire the amount of compensation. Instead, that will be left to a committee of 'wise' people to decide. Last night, Mr Khaw suggested two people likely to be on the committee - Professor Lim Pin and Dr Lee Suan Yew, both of whom chair other ethics committees.

Allowing live organ donors to be compensated is one of four changes Mr Khaw is planning to introduce early next year - the third time the Act has been changed in less than five years. The others are:

- lifting the 60 year age limit on donations from the dead;

- letting two pairs of mismatched donors and recipients to essentially trade organs to increase the chances of finding a match;

- raising penalties for middlemen who broker organ trades

Read the full story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.