Consent Vs Coercion: The Complexities of Human Organ Sales.

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I find it funny that sometimes we do not realise how much danger we are to ourselves, and it is basically for this reason that we have the government actively making laws to protect us.

I am aware that government intervention in our personal lives can be pretty annoying. I mean, it’s one’s life; hence, they should flex the liberty of choice, but then once this liberty of choice starts having a ripple effect in the society, the government has my support to intervene.

Thus this brief brings us to today's Hive Learners prompt on the etiquette of organ harvesting and trafficking. Let me illustrate my response better with a story.

Some weeks ago my parents went to see my grandma; while they were there, my aunts had a little disagreement, and the younger one stormed out. While the older one lamented and cursed angrily, my mom tried to intervene by pleading with her to calm down. It was in that moment that she started filling my mom in on how ungrateful some people can be.

According to my older aunt, my younger aunt’s daughter, with the consent of her mother, went into a surrogacy agreement for a price of 1.6 million Naira. This they did without the knowledge of any family member. It was when my older aunt visited them; she saw the young girl pregnant. At the time the pregnancy was 3 months old, and my aunt was furious, especially given how unkempt and malnourished my cousin looked.

So upon enquiry my older aunt was informed by my younger aunt of the surrogacy deal. My older aunt’s anger brewed, given how the amount agreed upon was way below the standard price. It was clear that my cousin had been taken advantage of, and her mother did not know any better to guide or protect her.

Hence to salvage the situation, my older aunt contacted her lawyer, and together with my cousin and her mother, my other aunt, they approached the couple whom they were in a surrogacy deal with. During their meeting, the lawyer of my older aunt informed them that my cousin would be terminating the pregnancy, as she is not well fed or taken care of, which was also a danger to her health.

The couple, upon hearing this, pleaded, and to pacify the situation, they offered to increase the agreed amount from 1.6 million to 4 million Naira, including monthly allowances and foodstuff for the surrogate to feed well. My aunt’s timely intervention did not only save my cousin from being exploited but it also saved her life.

Like the above story, I have also seen another young girl sell her eggs just to see herself through the university. According to her, the pain that came with such an act was so much so that the money given wasn’t worth it, so she had to stop. Not everyone has it easy, I know, but you see, desperate times are meant to be faced with the clearest of minds for one's own good.

Before now I really did not understand how an individual wanting to sell their body part was termed illegal, but then it became clear, knowing fully well that certain decisions people would take out of desperation won’t be so if the situation was more accommodating and less biting.

Currently, we have a Nigerian senator and his wife doing time in the UK because a young man they had flown into the country to be a donor to their daughter in need of a kidney suddenly realised that he didn’t want to go through with the procedure again; hence, he reported to the police.

Now imagine if in the instances cited there were no laws protecting or restricting humans from tempering with their body parts and selling their organs like it’s thrift clothing. I mean, what would have become of humanity? I bet we basically would have had a lot of humans walking dead which in the long run would have triggered human extinction.

I remember a friend who went abroad and started donating his plasma or is it whiteblood cell… well, when he informed me about it i warned him of the dangers but he instead that it was a safe process.

According to him, all he had to do was drink plenty of water. Well sooner than later, he started feeling light headed despite his water intake. At a point he had to stop to preserve his health. This is just another example among many which shows that the human body is not meant to be tempered with.

Thankfully there is government intervention, to preserve and save us from ourselves.