ONE COALITION, ONE GOAL: A FUNCTIONING TRANSPLANT SYSTEM FOR NIGERIA
Convening clinicians, regulators, patients and global partners to build it.
Nigeria has the clinical talent to save more lives through transplantation. What is missing is a coordinated national ecosystem. By bringing together healthcare providers, government, industry, and international partners, we can strengthen organ donation, expand access to transplantation, and build the ethical, legal, and technical foundations for the future of transplant care.
WHO WE'LL BUILD IT WITH
Hospitals & Clinical Partners
Teaching hospitals, transplant centres, and nephrology practices are where this system gets built and tested. We're inviting clinical leadership to help pilot the paired living donor model, shape matching protocols, and train the surgical and coordination teams a national registry will require.
Government & Regulatory Bodies
No registry or donation pathway becomes real without regulatory backing. We are working to bring the Federal Ministry of Health, NHIA, NAFDAC, and state health authorities to the same table. A national system requires a national mandate, not twelve separate hospital policies.
International & Technical Partners
Nigeria doesn't need to build this from scratch. We are in dialogue with U.S. transplant centres and studying Spain's national coordination model, widely regarded as the most effective in the world, to adapt proven approaches to Nigeria's context rather than reinvent them.
Funders & Corporate Partners
Convening stakeholders, building a registry, and running national dialogues takes real capital. We're seeking partners who can fund the infrastructure, the convenings, and the public education this system needs to reach the patients who need it most.
WHAT WE'RE ADVOCATING FOR
This is not an awareness campaign. It is a strategic initiative focused on two high impact interventions designed to expand access to transplantation in Nigeria and strengthen the foundation of the country's transplant ecosystem.
A National Paired Living Donor Registry
Many willing living donors are unable to donate because they are medically incompatible with their intended recipient. A national paired living donor registry overcomes this barrier by securely matching incompatible donor and recipient pairs across participating transplant centers. Through paired exchange, Donor A can donate to Recipient B while Donor B donates to Recipient A, allowing both patients to receive compatible transplants. By leveraging donors who already exist, this proven model can significantly expand transplant opportunities without requiring new legislation. We are advocating for a nationally coordinated registry and standardized matching protocols as one of the fastest, most practical steps toward increasing transplant access in Nigeria.
A Legal & Clinical Pathway for Donation After Circulatory Death (DCD)
Today, organ transplantation in Nigeria relies almost entirely on living donors. Donation after Circulatory Death (DCD) has enabled many countries to expand organ donation beyond living family and friends. We are advocating for the regulatory framework, clinical standards, and ethical oversight needed to responsibly introduce this pathway in Nigeria, building on decades of international experience rather than starting from scratch.
CRITICAL STAKEHOLDERS AT THE TABLE
A national system requires every part of the system in the room.
THE NATIONAL TRANSPLANT DIALOGUE
This is not a future promise. On July 20–21, 2027, we are facilitating Nigeria's first multi-stakeholder dialogue on transplant systems reform, bringing government, hospitals, and international partners into the same room to align on next steps.
INTERNATIONAL MODELS WE'RE LEARNING FROM
We are in dialogue with experienced U.S. transplant centres for clinical protocol guidance and surgical training support, informing the design of the paired living donor model we're advocating for.
Spain has run the world's most effective national transplant coordination system for over three decades. We're drawing on that model as a reference point for what Nigeria's approach could look like.
JOIN THE COALITION
Building this system takes more than good intentions. Here's how organizations are getting involved:
Clinical & Hospital Partners
Teaching hospitals, transplant centres, and nephrology practices ready to help pilot the paired living donor model and shape clinical protocol.
Policy & Regulatory Partners
Government bodies and regulators positioned to help build the legal and oversight framework this system requires.
Funding & Technical Partners
Philanthropic, corporate, and international partners who can fund registry infrastructure or contribute technical expertise from mature systems.