• Many young people offered to sell their kidneys but we refused to link them up with recipients, say doctors They identified lack of regulation and enforcement of medical ethics, poverty, inequality and unconscionable medical practitioners as facilitators.
Olugbile said the generally observed rules and regulations relate to United Kingdom and the Western world, who require the donor to be preferably a blood relation, but if there is evidence of no suitable close kin, a volunteer may be sought. “And they have no way of enforcing the no financial incentive requirement. Everybody needing an organ transplant would normally have the rules explained to them as detailed above and would be expected to comply. Anybody seeking or facilitating organ transplant in a foreign country must familiarise themselves with the country’s laws, as ‘ignorance is no excuse’,” he said.
“We only practice living donor transplantation in Nigeria, especially of solid organ like the kidney. The donor is interviewed independently and assessed for suitability and fitness for organ donation. There should be no element of coercion or even inducement. Organ donation is completely altruistic, voluntary, and no reward except the satisfaction that someone has been helped. All these elements must be evident in the interview.
Reacting to the question on why syndicates involved in connecting families to people who are willing to donate one of their kidneys are thriving, the team said they are thriving because there is no regulation and enforcement of medical ethics. “Indeed, while deceased donation fails to meet the need for transplantable organs in all countries, it is almost non-existent in many countries, and it is this that has led to ever-increasing use of living donors as a source of kidneys and more recently, livers, especially in Low and Medium Income Countries , such as Nigeria.