Sharon agreed to donate organs -report
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-01-08 13:45

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon signed an agreement before suffering a severe stroke to donate his organs after his death, an Israeli newspaper reported on Sunday.
Sharon had signed a donor card in May when an Israeli organisation that lobbies for the cause conducted a drive at the Israeli parliament, the Haaretz newspaper said.

Doctors would still require the consent of the 77-year-old ex-general's next of kin, his two sons Omri and Gilad, before they could harvest any organs, it said.

The report also cast doubt on whether any of Sharon's organs would remain suitable for donation, since donors must generally be no older than 75. But his kidneys may be suitable for transplant, the newspaper said.

Sharon has been in critical condition and on a respirator since suffering a massive cerebral haemorrhage on Wednesday. Doctors were expected to decide on Sunday when to bring him out of a medically induced coma and to assess brain damage.

Surgeons at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem have said Sharon had good chances of survival but the medical consensus is that he would not likely be in a condition to return to politics.