Man offers own kidney for sale to settle debt
Suleiman Sani
About
a year ago, a 17-year-old Chinese boy simply identified as Wang, was
reported as having sold his kidney for £2,200 (about N530, 000) to buy
an iPad and iPhone. Now a 30-year-old father of three, Sulaiman Sani,
went on a Kano radio programme to offer his kidney for sale at N500,
000. But Sani, unlike the Chinese boy, says he is selling his kidney to
settle his debts.
Sani, who hails from Katsina State, told
Weekly Trust in Kano that he arrived at the decision to sell his kidney
after his failure to raise money to settle debt he owed some people. He
said his life was shattered when he was caught up in violence in Kaduna
mid last year which followed an attack on churches in Zaria and Kaduna.
“Before the crisis, I was living peacefully with my wife and three children until that faithful day when some irate youths launched a reprisal attack at Sabon Tasha. It was a miracle the fact that I survived. I was first dumped along with some dead bodies by the youths who thought I was also dead. Though I survived, I sustained a grave injury that left my hands deformed. I also lost my motorcycle which used to be my only means of livelihood,” he said.
Speaking further he said, “I was able to get back on my feet with the assistance of my wife’s relation who settled my hospital bills amounting to over N350, 000 during my two months stay. It was however with the agreement that I will pay back the money when I recover fully.”
After leaving the hospital, Suleiman has to look for something to do to enable him perform his duty as a husband and a father, but none was forthcoming. Feeding his family soon became a problem, eventually forcing him to send his wife and their children back to her parents’ house.
“When I sent them back to her parents to stay temporarily as I search for a job, I came to Kano with the hope of making money to settle the debt and return my family,” he said.
But with no known relation in Kano, coupled with the fact that he could not make use of his hands, Sulaiman has to work as a motor park attendant to get money to buy food.
“I became a motor park attendant here because I had no option. My deformed hands mean I cannot rely on my strength to lift anything heavy. So, for the past six months that I have been in Kano, the money I get only cover my feeding,” Sulaiman said.
According to him, after discovering that his job will not fetch him the money he needed to settle the debt and shoulder the responsibility of his family, he decided to sell off his kidney.
“The idea to sell my kidney struck me one day after I heard someone over the radio advertising his body organ for sale,” Sulaiman said, adding that “I also said to myself, this must be the simplest way to raise the money since I have nobody to help me get out of my debt situation.”
Sulaiman, who started shedding tears as he narrated his ordeal said “I also want to bring my family back, because it has been long since I saw them last. I want to be close to my children, so that I will give them the proper upbringing every child deserves.”
When Weekly Trust asked him whether people will not take him to be insane for offering to sell his body organ, Sulaiman said “Selling my own kidney will be a better option for me than to commit suicide. You know some people take their own lives, because of poverty and other problems.”
Though he welcomes assistance from government and other well-to-do individuals in the society, Sulaiman said he will prefer to sell the kidney, which he believes will fetch him more money, than to wait for donations from people, which may never come.
The father of three said he was taken out of his village of Marabar Hunkuyi, which he said is under Funtua local Government of Katsina State, 20 years ago in search of Islamic education known as ‘Makarantar Allo’ in Kano State.
“After the death of my parents, my relations brought me to Kano for Islamic education. And that was the last time I saw any of them,” he said.
When he arrived in Kano, he was enrolled at Malam Yakubu’s Tsangaya School in Jakara quarters. He later relocated to Kaduna ten years ago in search of a means of livelihood. While in Kaduna, he was able to generate money and buy a motorcycle through which he got married.
Speaking on the development, a Kaduna-based medical practitioner, Dr Muhammad Bello of the Rakiya Memorial Hospital, said people willing to sell their kidneys may insist that it is part of their body and can therefore do whatever they want to do with it, and the constitution of Nigeria did not stipulate a clear penalty for that because it did not envisage a time when something like this will come up.
“It is just like the issue of people selling their blood. Though it is not allowed for people to sell their blood, the authorities have turned a blind eye to it so that patients who need it may not die. However, people are always encouraged to donate rather than sell their blood. Morally and culturally, it is wrong for one to sell his kidney, but one can donate it to save the life of another,” he said.
On the possibility of people living with only one kidney, the doctor said, “It is very possible. Just like one can live with one eye, he can also live with one kidney. In fact, some are born with a single kidney, but on rare occasions. Others may have one of their kidneys removed due to some anatomic abnormality or serious injury. But when the remaining kidney develops fault, it can be very dangerous.”
Weekly Trust reports that in Iran, people are legally allowed to sell and buy kidneys under the state-regulated surveillance of two non-profit organisations, the CASKP and the Charity Foundation for Special Diseases. These charities facilitate the process by finding potential vendors and introducing them to the recipients, and are charged with checking the compatibility of a possible donation and ensuring a fair trade.
Those who are willing to sell their kidneys advertise the organ by writing their blood type and phone number on posters or walls of the street close to several of Tehran’s major hospitals, according to The Guardian of UK.
Last year, an Iranian woman simply identified as Marzieh said she was willing to sell her kidney to come up with money for her daughter’s wedding because in Persian custom, it is the parents’ duty to provide a dowry.
“Before the crisis, I was living peacefully with my wife and three children until that faithful day when some irate youths launched a reprisal attack at Sabon Tasha. It was a miracle the fact that I survived. I was first dumped along with some dead bodies by the youths who thought I was also dead. Though I survived, I sustained a grave injury that left my hands deformed. I also lost my motorcycle which used to be my only means of livelihood,” he said.
Speaking further he said, “I was able to get back on my feet with the assistance of my wife’s relation who settled my hospital bills amounting to over N350, 000 during my two months stay. It was however with the agreement that I will pay back the money when I recover fully.”
After leaving the hospital, Suleiman has to look for something to do to enable him perform his duty as a husband and a father, but none was forthcoming. Feeding his family soon became a problem, eventually forcing him to send his wife and their children back to her parents’ house.
“When I sent them back to her parents to stay temporarily as I search for a job, I came to Kano with the hope of making money to settle the debt and return my family,” he said.
But with no known relation in Kano, coupled with the fact that he could not make use of his hands, Sulaiman has to work as a motor park attendant to get money to buy food.
“I became a motor park attendant here because I had no option. My deformed hands mean I cannot rely on my strength to lift anything heavy. So, for the past six months that I have been in Kano, the money I get only cover my feeding,” Sulaiman said.
According to him, after discovering that his job will not fetch him the money he needed to settle the debt and shoulder the responsibility of his family, he decided to sell off his kidney.
“The idea to sell my kidney struck me one day after I heard someone over the radio advertising his body organ for sale,” Sulaiman said, adding that “I also said to myself, this must be the simplest way to raise the money since I have nobody to help me get out of my debt situation.”
Sulaiman, who started shedding tears as he narrated his ordeal said “I also want to bring my family back, because it has been long since I saw them last. I want to be close to my children, so that I will give them the proper upbringing every child deserves.”
When Weekly Trust asked him whether people will not take him to be insane for offering to sell his body organ, Sulaiman said “Selling my own kidney will be a better option for me than to commit suicide. You know some people take their own lives, because of poverty and other problems.”
Though he welcomes assistance from government and other well-to-do individuals in the society, Sulaiman said he will prefer to sell the kidney, which he believes will fetch him more money, than to wait for donations from people, which may never come.
The father of three said he was taken out of his village of Marabar Hunkuyi, which he said is under Funtua local Government of Katsina State, 20 years ago in search of Islamic education known as ‘Makarantar Allo’ in Kano State.
“After the death of my parents, my relations brought me to Kano for Islamic education. And that was the last time I saw any of them,” he said.
When he arrived in Kano, he was enrolled at Malam Yakubu’s Tsangaya School in Jakara quarters. He later relocated to Kaduna ten years ago in search of a means of livelihood. While in Kaduna, he was able to generate money and buy a motorcycle through which he got married.
Speaking on the development, a Kaduna-based medical practitioner, Dr Muhammad Bello of the Rakiya Memorial Hospital, said people willing to sell their kidneys may insist that it is part of their body and can therefore do whatever they want to do with it, and the constitution of Nigeria did not stipulate a clear penalty for that because it did not envisage a time when something like this will come up.
“It is just like the issue of people selling their blood. Though it is not allowed for people to sell their blood, the authorities have turned a blind eye to it so that patients who need it may not die. However, people are always encouraged to donate rather than sell their blood. Morally and culturally, it is wrong for one to sell his kidney, but one can donate it to save the life of another,” he said.
On the possibility of people living with only one kidney, the doctor said, “It is very possible. Just like one can live with one eye, he can also live with one kidney. In fact, some are born with a single kidney, but on rare occasions. Others may have one of their kidneys removed due to some anatomic abnormality or serious injury. But when the remaining kidney develops fault, it can be very dangerous.”
Weekly Trust reports that in Iran, people are legally allowed to sell and buy kidneys under the state-regulated surveillance of two non-profit organisations, the CASKP and the Charity Foundation for Special Diseases. These charities facilitate the process by finding potential vendors and introducing them to the recipients, and are charged with checking the compatibility of a possible donation and ensuring a fair trade.
Those who are willing to sell their kidneys advertise the organ by writing their blood type and phone number on posters or walls of the street close to several of Tehran’s major hospitals, according to The Guardian of UK.
Last year, an Iranian woman simply identified as Marzieh said she was willing to sell her kidney to come up with money for her daughter’s wedding because in Persian custom, it is the parents’ duty to provide a dowry.
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