Abstract:
Good health is increasingly a very a paramount commodity in
today’s -world. Given this backdrop, especially for those that can
afford it, human organ transplant has become the new normal
towards prolonging lives. As plausible as this is, this medical
interference if left unchecked threatens the lives of many- especially
the vulnerable poor ratio of our society. Therefore, the World Health
Organisation in sync with the United Nations has come with a legal
framework that emphasises informed consent as an indispensable
pre-condition for human organ harvesting. Giving more credence to
this framework other Regional treaties have been signed by State
parties towards protecting their citizens against human organ
trafficking. Nigeria as a State has enacted the National Health Act,
2014. This Act has resounding protective provisions towards
guaranteeing good health ethics in Nigeria. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, this said Act has come under severe scrutiny for failure to
protect the citizens of Nigeria against uninformed consent or lack of
consent before organ harvesting. In view of this, this work seeks to
examine the historical antecedent of organ harvesting and
transplanting; engage in certain conceptual clarification;
interrogate certain provisions of the National Health Act as it relates
to organ harvesting vis-a-vis international legal framework in this
regard; and recommending plausible ways of amending the alarming
provisions to meet up with international best practices.
