Legal and ethical developments in the regulation of organ donation and transplantation in Nigeria

Abstract

Organ transplantation is recognised as the criterion for end-stage organ failure, it has evolved over the years to become one of the innovative advancements in contemporary medicine; saving and prolonging lives, as well as enhancing many patients’ quality of life. One of the problems outlined in the paper is that Nigeria currently lacks a national registry for organ donation or transplantation. The paper highlights the gains and limitations of our law as well as the legal and ethical issues that arise with respect to consent in organ donation and transplantation and generally evaluate the existing legal frame work regulating the practice of organ donation and transplantation in Nigeria. References were made to international protection on the subject of organ donation and transplantation as it is a medical interference that touches on the fundamental rights of the donor or the donee. A perusal of the provisions of the National Health Act 2014 on informed consent with regards to organ donation and transplantation in Nigeria shows there is a limitation in the law which borders on the unclear manner in which the principle of informed consent is couched and the impracticability of the law by the use of wills with respect to informed consent for cadaveric donation. The paper concludes with recommendations, chiefly that a national organ donation registry must be maintained to keep proper records, so as to easily evaluate success and plan on how to make improvement going forward. The paper also recommends that the law be amended to capture in clear and certain terms the essence of the principle of informed consent, being more detailed on the doctrine as it relates to children, and persons who lack the capacity to consent, the law also needs to ensure the feasibility of the wishes of the deceased to donate by providing other effective avenues such as health records or driver’s licence for documenting the consent of willing donors.

Keywords: Organ Donation, Transplantation, Legal Development, Nigeria