Bioethics and Organ Transplantation: Philosophical Perspectives for Medical Professionals in Nigeria

This study examines bioethical and philosophical questions surrounding organ transplantation practice in Nigeria, with a focus on providing professional ethical guidance for medical practitioners involved in transplantation medicine across the South West and North Central geopolitical zones. Organ transplantation raises profound philosophical questions about bodily integrity, the moral permissibility of organ markets, the ethics of post-mortem donation, and the allocation of scarce organs that require explicit philosophical analysis rather than merely technical medical judgement. Using a professional practice design, the study draws on bioethics from Janet Radcliffe Richards, the capabilities approach of Martha Nussbaum, and African philosophical perspectives on the moral status of the body after death, supplemented by secondary literature published between 2020 and 2024. Structured interviews with 20 transplant surgeons, ethics committee members, and philosophy academics in Lagos and Abuja provide the primary data. Findings reveal that Nigeria lacks a coherent philosophical framework for organ transplantation ethics, with practices driven by pragmatic medical decisions rather than principled ethical analysis, particularly regarding the procurement of organs from impoverished donors. The study argues that a justice-based philosophical framework, attentive to the structural coercion risk in impoverished donor populations, is urgently needed. Recommendations include establishing bioethics review committees for all transplantation procedures in Nigerian tertiary hospitals. Keywords: bioethics, organ transplantation, medical ethics, Nigeria, justice.