A growing black market organ trade has left doctors and government officials looking for a solution. This new law, they believe, will help stem the tide of rich people buying body parts from people who need the money to support their families.

The Egyptian Medical Association was quick to deny that the bill, designed to limit the number of organ donors, would discriminate between Christians and Muslims. The organization argued it was a necessary step in order to fight against black market dealing.

The director of the Medical Association said the law was non-discriminatory.

"This is all to protect poor Muslims from rich Christians who buy their organs and vice versa," Dr. Hamdy al-Sayed said.

According to the bill, physicians who violate the proposed law that would prevent non-family members from exchanging organs would face penalties, including the possibility of losing their medical license.

Parliament has yet to decide on the final draft of the legislation and according to Sayed, is not likely to do so in the near future.

But that has not stopped criticism to foment.

Some Christians are upset by the proposals. Bishop Marcos, representing Coptic Christians has argued publicly against them.

"We all have the same Egyptian blood, but if the reason for the measure is to end organ trafficking, we reject it because it may also occur between believers of the same religion," the bishop said.

"We are afraid that in the future there will be hospitals for Christians and hospitals for Muslims," the bishop added.

Sayed was quick to quell sectarian overtures the bill has created, by retorting: "If some Copts are angered by the law, then why is it that Muslims are not?"

"It is degrading for both religions, if let's say, a poor Christian has to sell his kidney to a rich Muslim, or a poor Muslim has to sell his kidney to a rich Christian," the association's chief added. "It is not right for either religion, and that is why we made this law, so we can stop organ trafficking."

Recent reports have indicated that wealthy Egyptians often seek out and find a poor citizen in order to get an organ at lower cost. Rights groups confirmed to the Middle East Times that this occurs mainly with rich Christians purchasing organs from poor Muslims.

"The decision may not be the best one, and it can always be changed later on, but for the time being this is the right move by the government," a human rights activist told the Middle East Times on condition of anonymity, due to a possible backlash against his organization.

He said that people must put religion aside in order to tackle an issue such as this one.

"Families can get hurt, people can die in this process, so taking extreme measures to clean it up may not be such a bad idea," he said.

The bishop disagrees. He believes the proposed law is "very grave" for Egyptian society, which he argues could lead to the prohibition of blood donations between Christians and Muslims.

"We are afraid that in the future hospitals will be segregated, one for Christians and another for Muslims," he said.

Al Azhar, the Sunni Muslim world's most influential institution seems to agree with the bishop, saying that the new law could "lead to discrimination between a Muslim and a Christian living in the same country."

For a nation that has for decades boasted of a society thriving without sectarian divisions recent events have forced a harsh reality among the country's 80 million people, of which approximately 10 percent are Christian.

"Sure, the government needs to step in and end the illegal organ trade that is going on here, but at what cost to us?" asks Muhammad, a 30-year-old IT specialist. However, he agrees with the rights activist's sentiments that this is an important first step.

"It has to happen at some level, and while I believe it might not be perfect, Egyptians, both Christian and Muslim, need to take responsibility for where the country is heading. Not everything is a battle between religions."