AFRICAN JOURNAL OF CONTEXTUAL THEOLOGY

Organ transplantation has received enormous attention in recent decades due to improvements in medical technology. The transplantation procedure has been viewed as a reliable remedy to end-stage organ and tissue failures or diseases, and it is especially prevalent for addressing renal, lung, and cardiac diseases, among others. However, the propensity of organ failures, sometimes due to lifestyles, is recurrent everywhere. Its impact is worsened, especially in struggling economies. Nonetheless, the escalating number of patients on waiting lists in highly industrialized economies has increased the demand for organ transplantation procedures, including trading and trafficking in organs. The increasing wave of kidnapping of people in Nigeria, especially in the past year and over time, is often associated with organ trafficking for transplantation, and sometimes, alleged for purposes of ritual activities. This latter allegation might prove challenging to ascertain since a civilian researcher might end up a victim. Nevertheless, this paper will endeavor to study the ethical issues pertaining to organ trafficking. It will explore the relationship between kidnapping and organ trafficking as well as the ethical issues and challenges therein. Furthermore, it will undertake to assess possible remedies for curbing these organ trafficking practices and ways to improve accessibility, transparency, and equity in organ transplantation.

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