ALLEGED KIDNEY HARVEST: Alliance Hospital Abuja Speaks On The Issue, Makes Clarifications With Facts & Figures.

Dr. Christopher Otabor.

Alliance Hospital and Services Ltd, the hospital in Abuja, being accused by a young man of harvesting the kidney of his 17 year old younger brother without the consent of their family has finally spoken to the media and cleared a few issues surrounding the case.

In a press conference called by Alliance Hospital in Abuja, the management of the prestigious health facility made a few revelations on the matter as the concern the major issue of organ harvesting.

Speaking, the Medical Director, who doubles as the Chief Consultant Surgeon, Dr. Christopher Otabor, says, “Some of you may have seen a video that has been trending online where a young man alleged that Alliance Hospital harvested a kidney from a 17 year old boy and sold it and he threatened to take the matter to human right.

Kidney transplant is a very complex undertaking involving two major surgeries simultaneously. It requires very painstaking pre-operative protocols as well as diligent post-operative care for a good outcome.

THE COMPLETE VISUAL FROM THE PRESS CONFERENCE CAN BE SEEN THROUGH HERE, https://youtu.be/KZ5Zu0qGGDM?t=359

For above reason, only few hospitals around the country and the world can muster the resources and technical depth to safely engage in kidney transplant operation.

Till date, Alliance Hospital has carried out 64 kidney transplant surgeries with 97% of the patients discharged home after a successful procedure. Procedures like this represent the only hope for thousands of patients suffering from chronic kidney failure who are currently undergoing dialysis until the conditions are met for transplant”.

According to him, “The young man in the video is the brother of a patient (name withheld) who was a kidney donor in the last batch of kidney transplant that was done in this hospital on Friday, 11^th November, 2022.

As a rule, patients source for their donors from amongst members of their families or friends and present to the hospital for compatibility test. If the patients and proposed donors are found to be compatible, then further tests are done to determine the fitness of the donor for kidney donation surgery and once the donor is determined fit to donate, then the administrative and legal procedures are undertaken.

Part of the legal procedure requires that the patient swear to an affidavit stating the following, that he is above 18 years of age which is the legal requirement in Nigeria, that there is no financial inducement and that he is not paid any amount of money to undertake this venture, that he is consenting to the procedure willingly and without any cohesion and finally, that of his relationship with the recipient

In the case in question, the donor duly swore to an affidavit and stated as follows, that he was born on the 14^th of September, 2004, which meant that he was `18years and 2 months at the time of the surgery, there was no financial inducement, with his consent to the procedure given willingly without any cohesion or intimidation., stating that the recipient of the donated kidney was his uncle and deposed to an affidavit with the patient deposing to an affidavit stating that the donor is his nephew.

The hospital stated that the above documentation, and a positive compatibility and surgery fitness test, she proceeded with the surgery which as always turned out to be successful, with both the donor and patient were discharged home at the appropriate time without any complications, but on the 24^th of November, 2022, exactly 2 weeks after the surgery, we got an invitation from the highly esteemed Ordinary President, the founder of Human Rights Radio and Television here in Abuja who is a certified arbitrator, informing us that a case of breach of promise regarding a kidney donor has been levied against the hospital, giving us an opportunity to defend ourselves.

Alliance Hospital sent two representatives to honour that invitation, which had members of the family of the donor, with the donors brother and sister speaking on behalf of the donor with the following points made stating that contrary to the earlier information, the patient is actually 17 years old, the recipient is not a biological relative of the donor, that there has been an intermediary person (unknown to the hospital) who contacted the donor on behalf of the recipient to donate his kidney for a financial consideration of ₦2.8m and a promise to relocate him abroad, that the intermediary person did not give the donor any amount of money as promised and that the hospital should pay the family the said ₦2.8m and fulfil other promises, otherwise they will escalate the case.

As a hospital, we were surprised at the submission of the family at the human rights radio and television meeting and we expressed our surprise at the claims of the family which were contrary to what information the donor gave to the hospital for which he also disposed to an affidavit.

Alliance Hospital therefore took exception to the claims of the family and advised them to locate whoever the intermediary is, to discuss their grievances, with another meeting fixed with the ordinary president before the brother of the donor released the video in question in bad faith, which brought about the suspension of further meetings with the human right radio and television, with the hospital maintaining that the donor in question is over 18 years of age and by Nigerian Constitution, he is an adult, with our lawyers being briefed to commence a legal suit against the young man who posted the said video online, charging him for defamation of character and we may be forced to join any media organisation who fail to exercise the necessary professionalism and precaution in the suit.