The Federal Government has introduced guidelines that will regulate organ and tissue transplantation services in the country.
The document titled, “Standards and Guidelines for Establishing and Coordinating Organ/Tissue Transplantation Services in Nigeria”, which was validated on November 13, 2024, represents a milestone in the collective efforts to enhance organ donation and transplantation practices in Nigeria.
To this end, the government plans to establish an Organ Donation and Transplantation Registry and Banking system to streamline the management of organ donations across Nigeria.
Minister of State for Health, Dr Isaac Salako, who disclosed this at the unveiling of the documents, yesterday, in Abuja, said the Federal Government would begin mapping and certifying all health institutions engaged in organ donation and transplantation to ensure they meet the highest standards of practice.
According to Salako, organ transplantation is not merely a medical procedure, but a life-giving opportunity that offers a second chance to individuals suffering from end-stage organ failure, adding that for many patients, it is a matter of life and death, but organ transplantation provides hope and the possibility of returning to a fulfilling life.
Salako said the guidelines were critical because they would provide a much-needed regulatory framework for organ transplantation and address key areas such as ethics in transplantation, donor protection, transplant patients’ safety, minimum standards in organ transplant as well as the procedure to ensure compliance.
According to him, the document is particularly important, given Nigeria’s unique challenges, adding that in recent times, the country has witnessed troubling incidents of unethical organ harvesting and other excesses within the organ transplantation workspace.
The minister urged all stakeholders, healthcare professionals, legal experts, religious bodies, civil society organisations, and the media to actively engage with the guidelines to ensure that the document delivers tangible improvements in the field of organ transplantation.
In his comments, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Daju Kachollom, said the launch of the document was a lifeline and a game-changer in the nation’s healthcare landscape.
She noted that the demand for organ transplants was rising, while ethical concerns persisted, stressing that without proper regulation, vulnerable lives remained at risk.
In his remarks, the Chairman, National Tertiary Health Institutions Standards Committee ( NTHISC), Prof Philip Abiodun, noted that for too long, organ transplantation in Nigeria had been plagued by irregularities, exploitation, lack of robust regulatory frameworks and that the challenges had left many vulnerable to unethical practices.
