NMA Wades into Abuja Organ Harvesting Saga

•As Alliance Hospital insists it did no wrong

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

Amidst raging concerns over the swelling business of organ transplant in the country, especially the recently reported cases in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Nigerian Medical Association has stepped in to find out the role being played by its members in the unfolding saga.

The move by NMA came just as the Alliance Hospital and Services Ltd, Abuja, one of the hospitals alleged to have carried kidney transplant has insisted that it performs organ transplant in best professional form, observing all legal provision.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, the NMA FCT Chapter chairman, Dr. Charles Ugwuanyi, said the body decided to wade into the matter so as to ensure that the right things are done to unravel the truth.

According to him, NMA believes that medical practioners and hospitals that showed courage and expertise in venturing into the highly technical aspect of organ transplant should be protected by government and not allowed to be harassed or blackmailed to abandon the practice.

The association urged those who have any case against any doctor regarding the issue of organ harvesting or transplant to ensure that they not only report to the police but file their complaint to the Medical and Dental Council Tribunal which is the appropriate professional body with the mandate to discipline doctors.

“We have always encouraged our patient, if you feel you have not been treated well, don’t take to violence against us or engage in emotional and psychological attack but you should go to the medical tribunal to lay the complaint.

“MDCN has a tribunal; trust them. They do a thorough job and I think they can give fair hearing. The tribunal can sanction the doctors by seizing their professional licenses or even blacklisting them from practicing,” he said.

He said that NMA has an internal mechanism for checkmating the conduct of doctors, adding that members of the public should avail themselves of these procedures to lay their complaints and seek justice where necessary.

While exonerating himself and his hospital of any wrong doing in the kidney transplant saga, the Managing Director of Alliance Hospital and Services Limited Abuja, Dr. Chris Otabor, said the hospital diligently followed all the law governing organ transplant in Nigeria in conducting its business.

Otabor who addressed newsmen along with the NMA leadership said the legal requirements governing organ transplant in Nigeria is scanty and limited in depth and that it only requires the donor to be above 18years of age.

He also said that law requires that there should be no financial inducement for the donation.

Otabor who accused those who petitioned against the hospital of blackmail and extortion, said: “We have followed the above protocol strictly for all the kidney transplant cases done by the hospital”.

Otabor gave account of the case saying that: “On 5th May, 2023, one Lawal Idris representing Lawal Idris Law Firm in Abuja wrote a petition to the FCT Commissioner of Police stating that one Emmanuel Melody, a purported staff of Alliance Hospital lured his client Oluwatobi Adebayo, a 17-year old boy, to the hospital to harvest his kidney and Alliance Hospital paid the boy (donor) only #1,000,000 (one million Naira).

“The lawyer also claimed in his petition that due investigations were not done to ascertain compatibility and fitness of the boy for surgery. He prayed the Police Commissioner to investigate the matter and bring the culprits to book”.

He said the Police Commissioner ordered the arrest of some members of the hospital’s kidney transplant team and instituted a high level investigation team to investigate the claims.

In the end, Otabor said that the Police found no merit in the petition as the key suspect Emmanuel Melody was proven not to be a staff of Alliance Hospital.

He said that the Police also confirmed from the court that the donor, Oluwatobi Adebayo, swore to an affidavit stating that he was above 18 years of age at the time of the surgery, having sworn affidavit stating age and donation on free will without monetary inducement before the surgery was undertaken.

Otabor said there is no iota of evidence of monetary transactions between the hospital, its staff and the donors or their representatives.