Nigerians who claim to have been tricked
into selling their kidneys in Indian hospitals
have shared horrific tales of their ordeal. In
this exclusive sit down with Punch , Martin
said he was tricked into selling one of his
kidneys for just $7,500 (N1.2m) in 2008
Martins said he had only one reason
why he was willing to sell one of his
kidneys for that amount: financial
independence.
He'd tried to make a meaning out of his
life. While growing up, he had dreamt of
becoming an engineer but his parents
did not have the wherewithal to support
his dream.
So when he was approached by his
childhood friend, he did not think times
over before accepting the offer. He
would sell his kidney, his friend, who
was also the agent, would make about
$1,800 (N300,000), while he would
pocket the balance — $5,600
(N900,000). He felt it was balanced
Mathematics, but the complexity of the
deal was none he could have imagined.
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According to Martins, his friend, Sola, had a
link with some individuals in Nigeria, mostly
people who were looking for people who
could donate kidneys to loved ones who
needed to be flown abroad for kidney
transplant.
A part of the money paid for the kidney
would go to the agent, while the other part
would be given the donor.
As an agent, Sola was called one day in
October 2008 by a client who was based in
Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The client was a
man whose 27-year-old daughter’s two
kidneys had failed and needed to be flown to
India for a transplant. N1.2m was the
amount agreed upon by both parties to strike
a deal.
Then the agent’s work was to look for
someone who would sell his kidney and be
paid a part of the money put down by the
client.
Martins was the donor in this case who was
hoping he would make N900,000 when the
deal was over, but his friend chose to be
‘smarter’ than him. Instead of being paid, he
(Martins) was the one who ‘paid’ and is still
‘paying.’
Martins said,
“When I was tricked into selling my
kidney for money, it was even a close
friend of mine that introduced me into
the trade. And I did not doubt him for a
second. I wanted my life to change
positively. I did not know he would
eventually betray me due to the trust I
had in him. Things were a bit tough for
me then and I was desperate to make a
change in my life.
“Sola was looking for someone to
donate a kidney to a person, and since I
had been living in penury, I decided to
take a chance. I thought it was a little
issue. He told me the huge amount of
money that was usually paid to donors.
I told him I would do it.
“The client I was to sell my kidney to
was in Port Harcourt at that time, so I
travelled there and was lodged in a
hotel, the name of which I cannot
remember now. The following day, I was
taken to the General Hospital in the city
for medical tests.”
To be tested by the doctors in the
General Hospital, Port Harcourt, Martins
said he had to pretend as if he was a
relative of the patient, and that he did it
‘gladly.’ All he was hoping for was the
money.
He said, “I had to pretend as if I was a
family member of the client who needed
my kidney so doctors could allow me
undergo the tests.
“I was made to undergo different
medical tests ranging from HIV, to
blood group, and whether my kidney
matched with that of the sick.
“That was just the beginning, and
everything seemed to work perfect. I was
made to understand that assuming I
had any disease like gonorrhoea or
others, I would be treated here before I
travelled out of the country, as far as
my kidney matched with the sick’s.
“The second stage was the processing of
visa and other travelling documents for
me. The agent was to take care of all
this. My own responsibility as the donor
was just to obey all their commands.
“To process the visa, I took pictures
with the family of the patient, which
made the officials at the embassy
believe I was really a relative of the
client. I was also made to bear the
name of the family of the client so that
there would be no suspicion by the
officials at the embassy.”
Martins said he learned that if the client were
a Yoruba, he would be given a Yoruba name;
in this case, the patient and his father (who
was the client) were from Rivers State, and
so he was given a name that resembled
theirs.
He continued, “Meanwhile, as all these
were going on, I never knew that
negotiations between the client and the
agent were also ongoing, I was just
obeying their bidding; at least I thought
my friend could be trusted.
“Before we travelled and because
everything seemed to be working
according to plan, my agent told me I
had to get new clothes to travel with to
India, so I borrowed some money from
them, to be repaid from the money they
would pay me.
“Normally, the client would not pay the
agent the money until the day of
travelling and the agent would not pay
the donor until he was sure the
operation was successful.
“I never knew all these until I
experienced it. My friend was the agent
and that was why I did not bother
asking for the money before I travelled
to India.
“On the day I was to travel with the
family of the patient, we were lodged in
a hotel in the Ketu area of Lagos. We
got to the airport around 5am and I
was thinking all through the journey. I
was hoping my life would be better if
everything was successful.”
MIOT Hospitals in Chennai, India was the
destination. Everything had worked very well
in Nigeria, but that was just the first step.
Martins continued, “We got to the
hospital and we were lodged there. The
following day, I began another series of
medical tests. The medical personnel,
who attended to me there, Doctor
Tashir, sat me down and asked who I
was to the patient.
“I told the doctor she was my niece. He
asked me if I knew the consequence of
what I was about to do, and I told him
there was no problem. For the next one
and a half months, I underwent another
series of medical tests. The doctors at
the hospital trashed the ones I did in
Nigeria.
“While in the hospital, I was just not
comfortable with the way things were
going. I wanted to be sure if the money
I was expecting to do this would really
come, so I decided to call my friend who
arranged the whole thing how much I
was going to be paid.
“But before I called my friend, I called
the client to find out how much he paid
my friend. He (the client) was in
Nigeria; it was only the lady, her
mother, and me who were in India. He
told me he had paid them on the day
we travelled to India, and that was
where the trouble began.
“I called the agent (my friend) and
asked him why he did not tell me the
client had paid him.
“My friend (the agent) had even seized
my phone to act as a collateral in case
I failed to come back to the country
after the operation. When I heard he had
been paid, I had to remind him that it
was my life I was playing with, and he
assured he would pay me once I
returned to the country.
“The last stage after the medical tests
was that I was taken to their local
council to face a panel. They asked me
again if I was ready for the operation
that would last for 27 hours, and to
know if I was ready for death in case it
came. To all these I said yes.
“Unfortunately, the patient’s mother
started treating me unfairly. She
believed I had been paid. At a point, I
had to tell my friend that I would not do
it again if I was not paid. I even told
him to go and give the money to my
mother, though she did not know
anything about it. But he kept assuring
me the money was safe.”
Eventually, Martin’s kidney was removed and
everything seemed to go well, but he later
realised his woe had just begun.
He said, “After the removal of my
kidney, I called the agent again to tell
him to send me some money for my
flight home. That was when I knew I had
been used and dumped.
“He changed the tone of his voice and
told me to stay in India. He started
asking me what I was coming to do in
Nigeria. I had planned to use the
N900,000 to buy a bus for transport
business here in Lagos, to start life
afresh. That had been my thought all
along.
“On December 2, 2008, after about three
months of being in India and 10 days
after the operation, I said I was going
home. With no money and no good
treatment from the patient’s mother, I
was stranded. Even though I had the
opportunity of stealing their dollar notes
in their wardrobe, I did not do so. I
could never do such a thing. I felt pity
for the lady.”
On December 3, 2008, Martins eventually got
a ticket to be flown to Nigeria and could not
believe that he had been made to pass
through the horrible situation for nothing.
He said, “I tried all I could, and from the
money I had borrowed before leaving, I came
back to Nigeria.
“My parents never knew where I went
and stayed for almost three months.
Things were really pathetic. I met a lot
of problems at home which I hoped I
could solve with the money I would get.
On this same matter, I lost my elder
sister who was pregnant because it was
her money that I took from home,
hoping that I would settle her when I
return.
“The baby died, she too died, my world
collapsed. Out of the N900,000 I was
expecting, my friend paid me only
N250,000. That was after I had
threatened him. I could not involve the
police because I knew it was one of
those hard choices I made. That was
how I was duped in the process of
selling my kidney.”
From the amount he could collect from his
agent, Martins was able to set up a football
viewing centre, which has since collapsed.
Another person with a similar story to tell is
Dayo. Not also willing to remain in financial
mediocrity all his life, he thought the
‘mouth-watering’ offer Sola (same agent for
Martins) offered him was not too small to
sell his kidney. Afterall, he learned in Biology
that man needs only one kidney to survive.
So when he was approached at the same
time with his friend by Sola, he did not
bother to consult with anyone before he
decided he would sell his kidney for N1m.
Almost similar experience with Martins’, the
same agent, who is also their friend,
manipulated him and gave him just
N500,000 out of the sum he bargained for.
However, the irony of the whole thing is that
through some manipulative means, the agent
told Dayo that he was also into travelling
agency and that he could help him secure a
visa to the United Kingdom, but the
unfortunate thing was that Dayo did not
think twice before he withdrew the whole
money he was paid for selling his kidney.
He said, “I gave him the whole money
he gave me back, waiting to fly to
London. Up till now, I have not heard
anything from Sola again neither have I
been given any visa to travel. My whole
life is in chaos now.
“I cannot even tell anyone in my family
that I did such a horrible thing. I have
been lying to many people who saw the
mark on my body. Who will ever believe
I sold my kidney for money? My life is
ruined.
“My mother will not even believe it. In
my desperation for money I have
destroyed my whole life. I just pray that
God will forgive me because this is
something I have never told anyone.”
Dayo only allowed our correspondent take
his back picture, using his right palm cover
the stretch mark. He said his family and
friends would identify him if they see his full
back.
Professor Itse Sagay, a human rights lawyer,
believes that organ trade is criminal and
must be fought.
He said, “Definitely it is an infringement of
the law against threat to human life. It is
contained in the criminal code. It takes on a
criminal hue. This matter should be
investigated while the people doing this trade
should be punished according to the law.”
The Ministry of Health’s spokesperson, Dan
Nwomeh, said Nigeria needs to sign the
proposed National Health Bill into law before
organ trade transactions get out of hand. He
clamoured for the prompt signing of the bill
into law for the regulation of organ
transplant in the country.
He said, “We hear rumours about the trade,
but the truth of the matter is that we have a
big problem at hand, and this is because
there is no law regulating organ transplant in
Nigeria. There is no law at all now, and what
can the Ministry of Health do when there is
no law?
“That is why we have been canvassing
for the signing of the National Health
Bill. If the bill is signed into law,
important health issues like organ
transplant and fertility medicine will be
regulated. It will not be done in the
secret.
“But while we are waiting for the
National Health Bill to be signed into
law, everything depends on the
practitioners to do the proper thing. You
cannot say someone who is into the
organ trafficking business has
committed an offence since there is no
law yet that is against or regulating it.”
Nwomeh added that the Ministry of Health
would continue to canvass for the signing of
the National Health Bill into law.
He said, “The health minister and the
Ministry of Health will continue to push
forward until this particular bill is
signed into law. Until such happens,
there are bound to be shady businesses
like that.”
Culled from Punch
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