Obasanjo calls for urgent law against organ trafficking in Nigeria

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday called for an urgent law that will help to check organ harvesting and trafficking in Nigeria.

Obasanjo demanded legislative support for a new bill to support people with kidney disease.

The former president, according to a statement from his media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, made this call at the 36th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the National Association of Nephrology held at the main auditorium of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta.

Obasanjo said, “There is an urgent need for legislative support in terms of a new bill to support affected persons.

“Organ trafficking is also an emerging issue in our environment, and I want to plead with agencies concerned to help in examining relevant laws, especially with regards to cadaveric donations, taking cognisance of our peculiar cultural and societal idiosyncrasies and also laws guiding organs to be harvested from living donors.”