Health Minister Arsen Torosyan has revealed that under current regulations, Armenians must refuse to donate organs and tissues after death.

Torosyan said this means they have so sign a document during their lifetime “so that their organs are not used to save someone else’s life.”

The mechanism doesn’t work now though the legislative framework is there, Torosyan told reporters on Thursday, April 25, Armtimes.com says.

“But I want to specifically stress that refusal may cost someone’s life,” he added.

Torosyan told a Cabinet meeting earlier on Thursday that a liver transplant surgery has for the first time been performed in Armenia.

The Minister has in the past cited three directions for the improvement of the healthcare sector: development of preventive healthcare, introduction of a new mechanism of health insurance, oncology at all levels - from early detection to treatment and palliative care.