A consultant plastic surgeon has said there is no fixed monetary value for a human kidney, stressing that legitimate organ donation should not be treated as a commercial transaction amid ongoing investigations into alleged kidney harvesting in Nigeria.
Dr Torngee Malu made the remarks on Tuesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, responding to questions about compensation for kidney donors under due process.
“I will still have to follow the law. If you go to the US or the UK, they say there should be reimbursement, what people may call compensation,” Malu said.
“Now, the question is, what do you consider as compensation? What will you consider as compensation enough? Even if you have a relative that donates a kidney for you, what will you really consider as compensation? It’s relative.”
He argued that assigning a set price was inappropriate because kidney disease affects people across all income levels.
“People also think that kidney failure only affects rich people. It doesn’t, it affects a lot of poor people. So, if we talk of putting a monetary value to it, that’s not a good way to look at it. The question is: Who needs it? Who wants to give it? Who is willing to do it at this rate? So, it’s not about a fixed rate to give for kidneys. There’s no fixed rate.”
Malu emphasised that kidney transplantation is a highly specialised procedure that must be distinguished from illegal organ trafficking. He noted that even experienced general surgeons cannot routinely harvest a kidney, as the organ is deeply situated and requires specialist expertise.
“It’s very, very difficult to harvest the kidney. I’m a surgeon, I’ve been practicing for years, I’m a plastic surgeon—I cannot harvest a kidney. Even a general surgeon cannot just go and harvest a kidney. The kidney is one of the most hidden organs in the body; it requires only a specialist that can do that.”
Describing the process, he said both donor and recipient are taken into the same theatre after matching tests. One team harvests the organ and hands it to another team for transplantation, as the kidney can quickly become unusable if delayed.
“So you see, it’s a very, very technical process. Because if you keep the kidney for some time, it dies off, it’s no more useful.”
Malu urged the public to separate legal kidney donation from trafficking, describing current allegations as a case of legitimate donation being mischaracterised due to poor information.
His comments come against the backdrop of a police investigation. On August 19, officers arrested four suspects in a sting operation in Nasarawa State, including two nephrologists linked to Wellington Hospital in Abuja. Police alleged that vulnerable young people were recruited under false pretences and paid as little as $1,250 for their kidneys.
Investigations continue.
