THOMASIAN priest-scientist Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, O.P., has been appointed chair of the National Transplant Ethics Committee (NTEC) under the Department of Health (DOH).
As chair, Austriaco will lead the committee in setting standards, resolving ethical concerns and monitoring transplant facilities for compliance.
According to the UST website, Austriaco’s research expertise includes health care ethics and bioethics in Catholicism.
Austriaco is also known for his studies on yeast vaccinology, including an oral vaccine for Covid-19. He teaches biological sciences and sacred theology at the University.
He was awarded the Gabay Award from the National Research Council of the Philippines in December 2024 for his research that shaped the country’s vaccine distribution strategy during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The NTEC operates in coordination with the Philippine Organ Donation and Transplantation Program (PODTP), the DOH’s primary implementing body for organ donation and transplantation.
Established in 2002 through Administrative Order No. 124, the NTEC is the national body responsible for formulating ethical guidelines on organ donation and transplantation.
The committee was created to address growing concerns over organ commercialization and the exploitation of donors. Marigela Isabel R. Cirio
