Hot!
GhanaWeb launches campaign for legislation on organ harvesting, donation and transplantation to save lives
Digital news platform, GhanaWeb, in partnership with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital is embarking on an aggressive campaign ensuring that parliament passes a comprehensive legislation to guide organ harvesting, organ donation and organ transplantation in the country.
Organ donation and transplantation is a crucial aspect of healthcare that can save lives and improve the quality of life for many individuals. In Ghana, organ donation and transplantation are recognized as essential medical interventions, and efforts are being made to promote awareness and legislation in this area.
Currently, Ghana lacks any proper laws that will make way for human organs to be harvested, donated and transplanted.
The lack of legislation according to seasoned medical practitioners who spoke to GhanaWeb is a major source of worry and in many instances lead to avoidable deaths in the major hospitals.
Earlier this year, the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital made a breakthrough, performing two major kidney transplants by a wholly-assembled Ghanaian medical team -the first of its kind in Ghana.
But even with that breakthrough, patients who need kidney transplants for example can only do so if the donor is a close family relation.
This is because there are no laws that permit doctors to accept a kidney from 3rd parties who are not related to the patient.
The passage of a law or legislation will however open up the pool of donors wider and thereby save many lives.
It will also allow for people to sign up to willing donate parts of their organs in the event they die in order for those organs to save other people’s lives.
In this light, GhanaWeb has decided to embark on a campaign to promote the need for legislation regarding the donation of all body organs.
Currently, there is a draft legislation document developed by senior medical personnel at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital that focuses on organ harvesting and donation in the country.
This, according to a Urologist at the Korle Bu Teaching hospital has been reviewed and fine-tuned by the various health ministries and is currently awaiting legal drafting.
Legal drafting, according to Professor Matthew Kyei will ensure that the draft document will be written in legal language and then presented to parliament as a draft to be considered and then subsequently approved and passed.
According to him, the legal document, if passed by parliament to become a Bill, will ensure that a legal framework is provided for the harvesting and use of donated organs to save more lives.
GhanaWeb’s Organ harvesting, donation and transplantation campaign seeks to collaborate with all relevant stakeholders including ministries, officials at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and other hospitals in the country, survivors and beneficiaries of organ donation, parliamentary members and government officials to ensure that there’s enough awareness and urgency for the passage of legislation regarding organ donation.
The Bill for Organ Donation if approved by parliament and gets presidential assent seeks to among other things;
Allow room for people aside close family members to donate organs with their consent.
Also, it will allow for people to give consent for their organs to be harvested in the event that they die; what is called Cadaveric (organ donation involving taking organs (heart, lungs, kidney, liver, pancreas) as well as tissue (skin, corneas, tendons from bone) from brain dead and heart dead people.
Additionally, it will prevent the exploitation of people for human organs (where people are forced, manipulated or killed for their organs).
Finally, it will provide regulations of how organ donation banks will use organs that are harvested and stored such that there is no discrimination.
The Dzidula Pink Foundation, a new organisation dedicated to cancer awareness, early detection, and patient support, has been officially launched in Accra, with a passionate call for national commitment to fighting the disease. The launch event, held last week Friday, carried the theme: “Beyond the diagnosis: A future of restoration, care and courage.”
Speaking at the event, Madam Abena Brigidi, founder and CEO of Nimed Capital Limited, emphasised that cancer remains one of the most devastating health challenges facing families across the country. “Cancer does not discriminate—it affects mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons. It drains families emotionally and financially, and behind every statistic is a human story and a future suddenly thrown into uncertainty,” she said.
Sharing her personal encounters with cancer, having lost both her husband and father to the disease, Madam Brigidi highlighted the emotional, financial, and physical scars left behind. “I stand here not just as a speaker, but as a witness to what cancer can take away,” she stated. “I have watched loved ones fight bravely, and I have felt the deep pain that loss leaves behind.”
She stressed that awareness and early detection are critical to reducing deaths, noting that many Ghanaians still lack access to proper screening, reliable information, and adequate treatment. She appealed to healthcare professionals, corporate institutions, policymakers, the media, and the general public to join hands in the fight. “Early detection saves lives. Your support today can lead to someone’s healing tomorrow,” she said.
Madam Brigidi further called for collective responsibility to sustain the foundation’s mission. “To our medical professionals, we need your expertise. To corporate partners, your resources. To the media, your voice. To policymakers, your support. And to the public, your compassion,” she urged. She also insisted that breast cancer awareness should not be limited to annual campaigns, saying, “Breast cancer awareness must not be seasonal.”
Mrs Diana Fafa Gozo, founder of the Dzidula Pink Foundation, shared her own cancer journey, describing the shock of diagnosis, the fear that followed, and the difficult path through treatment. Her experience transformed her pain into purpose and inspired her to create a foundation to ensure no cancer patient walks alone.
Mrs Gozo explained that many patients struggle not only with treatment costs but also with emotional resilience. She outlined the foundation’s initiatives, which include awareness and early detection campaigns, patient support funds, community outreach, and survival support circles. “This foundation is my offering of gratitude, courage, and compassion and a reminder that no one should walk the cancer journey alone,” she concluded.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
Join our WhatsApp Channel now!
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) says it will deploy teams of Public Health Officers, members of its Sanitation Taskforce, and labourers, including sweepers and janitors, across all sub-metros to support the third National Sanitation Day exercise.
It explained that these teams will be equipped with waste collection trucks, tippers, and other tools to help with desilting, refuse collection, and transporting waste to approved disposal sites.
The AMA reminded residents that failing to comply with the sanitation directive or refusing to participate in communal labour is an offence.
It said offenders risk a fine of up to 100 penalty units, imprisonment between 30 days and six months, or both, with repeat offenders liable to additional daily penalties.
It urged all residents, traders, transport operators, market women, shop owners, landlords, tenants, and businesses to actively participate in the exercise.
The AMA said it counts on everyone’s collective responsibility to keep Accra clean, liveable, and resilient, especially as the city approaches Christmas and the New Year.
By: Jacob Aggrey
