Health
No fixed price for kidney donation — Surgeon
By Saheed Oyelakin
A Consultant Plastic Surgeon, Dr Torngee Malu, has weighed in on the commonly asked question of how much a person can receive for donating a kidney, amid an ongoing investigation into alleged kidney harvesting and human trafficking in Nigeria.
Explaining the price attached to kidney donation, Malu said there was no fixed monetary value for a human kidney.
Instead, he stressed that organ donation should not be viewed simply in terms of a sale price.
Malu stated this on Tuesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Morning Brief.
Responding to a question on the ideal value of a kidney donated through due process, the surgeon said the law provided for reimbursement or compensation but did not prescribe a fixed price for an organ.
“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 added that kidney disease affected people across income groups, arguing that access to transplantation should be prioritised over assigning a monetary value to donated organs.
“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 also explained that kidney transplantation was a highly specialised procedure, saying it should not be confused with illegal organ trafficking.
He said the legal framework for organ donation had been expanded by guidelines issued by the Federal Ministry of Health in 2025.
Malu said kidney harvesting required specialists and had to be carried out under standard medical conditions.
“It’s very, very difficult to harvest the kidney. I’m a surgeon, I’ve been practicing 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.”
Explaining the transplant process, he said the donor and recipient were brought into the theatre after the necessary tests and matching had been completed.
“Now, they bring in the person who wants to donate the kidney into the theater, and they bring in the person who wants to receive the kidney into the same theater. 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 said the kidney had to be transferred promptly because it could become unusable if kept for too long.
“So you see, it’s a very, very technical process. Because if you keep the kidney for some time, it dies off, it’s no more useful.”
Malu urged the public to distinguish between legitimate kidney donation and kidney trafficking, arguing that the allegations surrounding the current case should be properly investigated.
“So, that is why I said we have to differentiate kidney trafficking from kidney donation. This case we’re dealing with is kidney donation that is being put out there as if it’s kidney trafficking. It’s actually kidney donation; it’s poor information that is giving rise to all this.”
The police had on August 19 arrested four suspects during a sting operation at Auta Balifi in the Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
Those paraded were Emmanuel Ode, 23; Dr Benjamin Oyime, 48, a nephrologist and consultant to Wellington Hospital, Life Camp, Abuja; Dr Daniel Otukpa, 53, also a nephrologist and Acting Director of Clinical Services at Wellington Hospital; and David Idoko, 25.
The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, alleged that Ode confessed to recruiting victims under false pretences.
The police also alleged that one victim was lured to Wellington Hospital in April 2026, where his kidney was allegedly harvested after he was paid $1,250, while another victim allegedly underwent a similar procedure in 2022.
The Force said the suspects and their accomplices allegedly targeted vulnerable young people and exploited their financial difficulties to obtain consent for illegal organ harvesting.
It said investigations were ongoing to apprehend other suspects allegedly linked to the syndicate.
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