Nigerians dying from organ harvesting scams – Expert

A Public Health physician at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Prof. Tanimola Akande, has cautioned Nigerians to be wary of offers of free trips abroad from spurious persons.

According to him, such offers of free foreign travel are being used to trick people into organ harvesting scams.

“Nigerians are already dying from these organ harvesting scams, urging the citizens to be alert and wary of sudden offers of free trips overseas to seek greener pastures even when such offers come from seemingly close family and friends.

“Nigerians, should also steer clear of overseas employment opportunities that did not come abroad through reputable organisations that recruit people for jobs,” he said.

Prof. Akande, mentioned that many Nigerians have lost their lives to such tricks, adding that they end up being murdered for organ harvesting.

Organ harvesting, is becoming common these days because of the increasing need for patients to get organ transplants to replace failing organs in their bodies.

He, however, noted that more cases of organ harvesting are happening in Europe because more patients there require organ transplants, adding that the availability of the needed skills and material resources to do the transplantation makes the demand for it to be high there.

Organ harvesting, is a surgical procedure that entails the removal of body organs or tissues for reuse. The human body organs are often in high demand, include the kidney, liver, and heart.

He said, “Victims of organ harvesting, depending on how the procedure was done and the particular organ harvested are at risk of having serious health challenges.

“Harvesting of a kidney out of the two a victim possesses may not show immediate danger but if the remaining kidney begins to fail, there is no spare kidney to handle the renal functions.

“However, if the organ that is harvested is just one, unlike the kidney, that is an immediate death sentence.

“The procedure of the organ harvest may also lead to excessive bleeding, infections like hepatitis B and HIV. There could also be complications from anaesthesia which may lead to death,” the professor said.

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