A consultant nephrologist at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Professor Aliyu Abdu, has revealed that at least 651 kidneys were illegally harvested and transplanted in Nigeria between 2015 and 2020, with an estimated global value of more than $41bn.
Abdu, who is also a lecturer at Bayero University, Kano, disclosed this at a seminar on National Organ and Tissue Transplantation Standards held in Abuja.
He said the Nigerian cases form part of a broader international organ trade in which about 10,000 kidneys are sold on the black market every year.
He blamed the thriving trade on weak regulatory enforcement, despite the provisions of the National Health Act of 2014, which criminalises the commercial sale of human organs and requires informed donor consent.
“Most of the people who fall victim are poor and desperate. They’re lured by money without understanding the serious health risks involved,” he said.
According to him, many donors are abandoned after surgery and left to suffer long-term complications and emotional trauma.
Abdu described the underground kidney trade in Nigeria as a network driven by organised crime, involving recruiters, medical professionals, drivers, travel agents, and insurers who work together to carry out illegal transplants.
He added that the absence of cadaveric kidney donations and the lack of functioning organ banks in the country fuel the continued dependence on illicit means to meet transplant demands.
