Nigeria moves to curb organ trafficking with new transplantation guidelines

By Joseph Erunke, Abuja

Amid rising cases of organ trafficking and coerced donations, aesculapian experts person called for strict enforcement of ethical rules to safeguard susceptible Nigerians from exploitation.

The informing was issued connected Thursday successful Abuja astatine a seminar connected the dissemination of the 2025 Standards and Guidelines for Establishing and Coordinating Organ/Tissue Services successful Nigeria. The framework, introduced successful March 2025, is the country’s archetypal broad argumentation connected organ and insubstantial transplantation.

Chairman of the National Tertiary Health Institutions Standards Committee, Prof. Philip Abiodun, said the guidelines were designed to extremity unsafe practices and stamp retired the amerciable commercialized successful quality organs.

“We are painfully alert of reports of underage and mediocre Nigerians being exploited for organs, and cases of young women repeatedly recruited to donate eggs without afloat cognition of the wellness risks. These abuses are stark reminders of the dangers posed by greed and poorness erstwhile regularisation is weak,” helium said.

The caller model mandates voluntary, informed consent for each donations, prohibits commercialization, and requires that lone accredited hospitals and trained professionals execute transplants. Registration of transplant institutions and practitioners is acceptable to statesman nationwide successful the coming weeks, alongside the instauration of a nationalist transplant registry to show activities and way outcomes.

General Surgeon and President of the Clarion Call Care Foundation, Dr. Iyore James, cautioned Nigerians against patronizing amerciable organ markets.

“Yes, you tin unrecorded with 1 kidney, but ideate being abandoned aft country and aboriginal facing kidney nonaccomplishment yourself. We indispensable support donors arsenic overmuch arsenic recipients,” she said, urging the nationalist to usage lone regulated pathways.

Delivering the keynote address, Prof. Aliyu Abdu, Consultant Nephrologist astatine Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, condemned organ income arsenic “unethical, unlawful, and devastating.” He pressed for strict enforcement of the caller rules and punishment for offenders.

“Selling organs is not lone a transgression but besides carries terrible medical, social, and intelligence consequences,” helium stressed.

The experts agreed that portion organ transplantation remains a lifesaving enactment for patients with organ failure, unregulated practices person created fertile crushed for abuse. They emphasized that the occurrence of the 2025 guidelines hinges connected corporate enforcement by hospitals, regulators, policymakers, and civilian society.

The station Nigeria moves to curb organ trafficking with caller transplantation guidelines appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.