Reps move to legalise organ donation from deceased persons

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

The House of Representatives has passed for second reading a bill seeking to establish a legal framework for the donation and transplantation of organs and tissues from deceased persons in Nigeria, with provisions to prohibit organ trafficking, transplant tourism and commercial dealings in human organs.

The proposed legislation, sponsored by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu and six other lawmakers, also seeks to establish a National Deceased Organ and Tissue Donation Programme to regulate the identification of potential donors, referral, authorisation, recovery, preservation, allocation and transplantation of organs and tissues from deceased persons.

It further provides for the establishment of a National Organ Donation and Transplantation Authority to oversee the process, ensure equitable access to transplantation and establish procedures for determining death before organs or tissues can be recovered for donation.

Leading debate on the bill on behalf of Kalu, chairman, House Committee on Health Services, Patrick Umoh, said Nigeria needed a comprehensive legal framework to prevent the exploitation of vulnerable persons and strengthen public confidence in organ donation and transplantation.

Umoh noted that while organ and tissue transplantation offered life-saving opportunities to patients, it also raised significant ethical, medical and legal questions that required effective regulation.

“Organ and tissue donation represents one of medicine’s most profound possibilities: that the end of one life may offer the chance of renewed life to another. Yet, this possibility carries significant legal, ethical and medical responsibilities,” he said.

According to him, the proposed legislation would establish safeguards to protect donors, recipients and their families while ensuring transparency, fairness and accountability in the transplantation process.

“The Bill therefore seeks to establish a comprehensive framework for deceased organ and tissue donation and transplantation in Nigeria, while protecting donors, recipients, families and the integrity of the transplantation system,” he stated.

Umoh explained that the absence of a coordinated reg  ulatory framework covering consent, death determination, organ recovery, allocation, transplantation and tissue banking could expose vulnerable persons to abuse and undermine confidence in the health system.

“Nigeria’s transplantation system requires a clear and coordinated legal framework governing consent, death determination, organ recovery, allocation, transplantation, tissue banking, safety and oversight.

“In the absence of such a framework, vulnerable persons may be exposed to exploitation, while public confidence in donation may be undermined,” he said.

The lawmaker stressed that the bill was designed not only to facilitate deceased organ donation but also to prevent the emergence of an unregulated market in human organs and tissues.

“This Bill provides that framework by establishing appropriate regulatory structures, ensuring equitable access, strengthening patient safety and expressly prohibiting the commercialisation and trafficking of human organs and tissues.

“It seeks to build a system founded on dignity, transparency, fairness and public trust,” Umoh added.

The proposed law would also provide a regulatory basis for the safe recovery, preservation and allocation of donated organs and tissues, with the objective of ensuring that transplantation procedures comply with established medical and ethical standards.

With its passage through second reading, the bill has cleared another stage of the legislative process but must undergo further consideration and secure the required legislative approvals before it can become law.