HUMAN ORGAN TRANSPLANTS: ANALYSING THE CHALLENGES OF ORGAN AND TISSUE TRANSPLANT SURGERY IN GHANA
Author: Paul Owusu Boateng, Richard Owusu Nyarko, Edward A. Boateng, James Yamoah*, Francis Asante, Josephine Sackey, Kofi Kumah Abram Kwakye, Robert Ofori Amoah, Quist Yaw Kwadje, Ken Ameovi Gbeve, Frank Delasi Amenorpe
Vice President, Ghana Christian University College, Amrahia, Accra -Ghana.
Published Date: 2024-07-01
GoogleScholar: Click here
Keywords: Organ transplant, cadaveric, brain death, organ failure, cardiopulmonary, hepatic, renal, haemodialysis, organ broker.
Abstract:
Human Organ transplants is now a fully grown discourse in the practice of medicine and health where by apart from medical doctors (physicians and surgeons), nurses and health practitioners, religious leaders be it pastors and Imams have had many opinions that bothers on ethical considerations about such an indispensable, innovative surgical life procedure that restores the human life and human existence.
Organ transplant has been in existence since 1954 when, after numerous unsuccessful previous attempts, the first successful kidney transplantation by Murray et al. made human allotransplantation.
Allotransplantation is the transplantation of an organ or tissue from one individual to another of the same species Organ transplantation is the modern way of prolonging life of people suffering from end stage organ diseases worldwide. The most known ones are the hepatic and renal transplants (Liver and Kidney). The main root of organ donations in Ghana are from living donors. Organ donations from the dead have far been advanced with ethical considerations and legal inputs.
Is a known fact that a few number of organs come from living brain dead donors in Africa and Ghana is not an exception.
Yet, despite the surgical and medical advancement, the scarcity of human organs for transplantation has become a medical task and an albatross that has taken both clinical, religious, political and academic hiatus yet to be repaired by all stakeholders involved in it.
The field of human organ transplantation is complicated as it details more on ethical, religious and psychosocial issues.
There are many successes, problems and controversies surrounding organ donation, harvesting and transplantation.
The worse approach are human organ trafficking, the buying and selling of organs from what is known as brokers.
In Ghana most of the organ donations are from living donors and the percentage of cadaveric organ donation is low.
There is no explicit consent and presumed consent systems in Ghana yet. Ethically, there can be little or no harm to living organ donors. The availability of a matched donor is a high issue in Ghana coupled with religious, psychosocial influence and financial inability to embark on organ transplant procedures. some of the very well documented factors in organ transplantation are the religious, legal, ethical and surgical/medical paradigms in country wide.
