HEALTH Secretary Francisco Duque III yesterday said payment as a pre-condition for kidney donation would be strictly prohibited as it should be made out of goodwill and as an act of philanthropy.

Duque said his admonition is included in the administrative order he issued last Monday creating the Philippine Board for Organ Donation and Transplantation that would oversee kidney donations and transplants.

But Duque said the Board might still come up with a "gratuity package" in exchange of the organ donation in the form of health insurance, educational plan and livelihood assistance.

"The Board may rationalize the donor protection program. It’s up to the Board," he said.

The Board was also given the power to ensure the proper care of the donors as well as the prioritization of Filipino recipients instead of foreigners.

Based on DOH statistics, about 10,000 Filipinos develop renal diseases every year with almost 50 percent capable of being saved by kidney transplants.

Duque on Monday said Department of Health (DOH) is dead set on stamping out the "black market" of kidney donation and "protect our poor countrymen who become prone to abuses."