A Consultant Plastic Surgeon, Dr Torngee Malu, has said Nigerian law does not prescribe a fixed monetary value for a donated kidney, stressing that reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred by a donor should not be confused with the commercial sale of human organs.
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Malu spoke on Tuesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, against the backdrop of an ongoing police investigation into alleged kidney harvesting and human trafficking in Nigeria.
Under Section 53 of the National Health Act, receiving financial or other rewards for donating human tissue is prohibited, except for the reimbursement of reasonable costs incurred by the donor. The law consequently distinguishes legitimate reimbursement from the commercial purchase or sale of an organ.
Responding to a question about the amount a kidney donor could receive through a lawful process, Malu said the law recognised reimbursement or what some people might describe as compensation but did not place a fixed price on a human kidney.
“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.
“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 said.
The surgeon warned against treating kidney donation as an ordinary commercial transaction, arguing that kidney failure affects both wealthy and indigent persons.
“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. Poor people are affected, rich people are affected. We should make it available to as many people that want to have it,” Malu said.
He further explained that kidney transplantation was a highly specialised medical procedure that should not automatically be characterised as illegal organ harvesting or trafficking.
According to him, a kidney is one of the most concealed organs in the human body and can only be removed safely by specialists working under proper medical conditions.
“It’s very, very difficult to harvest the kidney. I’m a surgeon, I’ve been practising 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,” he stated.
Malu explained that the donor and recipient are taken into the theatre after the necessary medical tests and compatibility checks have been completed. He added that separate medical teams ordinarily handle the removal and transplantation of the organ.
“Now, they bring in the person who wants to donate the kidney into the theatre, and they bring in the person who wants to receive the kidney into the same theatre. There’s a team that is responsible for harvesting the kidney—they harvest it, and then they give it to the team that is going to transfer. It’s not the same team that harvests that transfers,” he explained.
The surgeon said the organ must be transplanted promptly because it could become medically unusable if kept for an extended period.
He urged investigators and members of the public to distinguish lawful organ donation from trafficking, while maintaining that the circumstances surrounding the current allegations should be thoroughly investigated.
Malu argued that the case under investigation appeared to involve kidney donation being portrayed as trafficking because of inadequate information. His position, however, remains his professional assessment and does not determine the outcome of the ongoing police investigation.
The police had on August 19 arrested Emmanuel Ode, 23; Dr Benjamin Oyime, 48; Dr Daniel Otukpa, 53; and David Idoko, 25, during an operation at Auta Balifi in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
Police authorities alleged that Ode recruited vulnerable persons under false pretences and that one alleged victim underwent a procedure at Wellington Hospital, Abuja, in April 2026 after receiving $1,250. Another person was alleged to have undergone a similar procedure in 2022.
The police further alleged that the suspects exploited the financial difficulties of vulnerable young people to secure their consent for kidney removal. The allegations have not been proved in court, and the suspects are entitled to the presumption of innocence.
Investigations are continuing to identify and apprehend other persons allegedly connected with the operation
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