Nigeria addressed some of its concerns surrounding the morality of its medical field, specifically in the surgery department that deals with organ transplant.
- Nigeria established detailed guidelines and regulations for organ and tissue transplants.
- The new regulations aim to control exploitation and ethical issues in the medical field.
- The guidelines cover various types of transplants, including kidney, liver, bone marrow, cornea, gamete, and embryo donation.
The West African country established detailed guidelines and regulations for organ and tissue transplants on Thursday in an effort to control a field beset by exploitation and ethical issues.
This was relayed by the country’s health ministe Iziaq Adekunle Salako, who noted that the new guidelines covered kidney, liver, bone marrow, cornea, gamete and embryo donation, storage, and surrogacy.
“In recent times, we have witnessed troubling incidents and other excesses with organ transplantation,” said Jimoh Salaudeen, director of hospital services at the health ministry.
“Nigerian victims from poor backgrounds who are targeted by criminal cartels, luring them with money or false promises of a better life,” are primary victims, he added.
The country’s organ transplant system is impeded by cultural challenges, a lack of donors, and lax legislation that raise ethical questions and raise the possibility of trafficking, notwithstanding medical skill.
The new regulations aim to promote openness and conformity to global best practices. The selling of organs is expressly forbidden, as seen on Reuters.
The minister highlighted the importance of public awareness, creation of infrastructure, and strict regulation enforcement while noting the difficulties that organ transplantation faces in Nigeria, including unethical organ harvesting and the requirement for informed consent.
“This is not just a policy; it is a commitment to life. However, for these guidelines to be effective, we must bridge gaps in public education, medical infrastructure, and regulatory compliance,” Salako stated.
“That is why we are mobilising stakeholders including health professionals, policymakers, and civil society to foster a culture where organ donation is both understood and ethically managed,” he said.
