BREATHING NEW LIFE INTO DRY BONES: THE EVOLVING PARADIGMS IN THE REGULATION OF HUMAN TISSUE TRANSFER IN KENYA

Abstract

The story is told of Daedalus who grafted bird feathers to his arms with a view to escaping from his island prison in Crete and fly to Mainland Greece. Although fictitious, recent developments in human organ, tissue and cell transfer have demonstrated that the story of Daedalus was way ahead of schedule and a vision for things to come. There has been attempts at xenotransplantation, a practice that has raised several ethical and legal concerns. Human tissue banking, property rights of donors, and organ trafficking are other issues that need to be addressed. Human organ, tissue and cell transfer saves lives that would otherwise have been lost. Like the Biblical Ezekiel that the Lord instructed to breath new life into dry bones in a valley, organ, tissue, and cell transplant breathes new life to bodes that would have died, in the absence of comparable alternatives or possibilities of repair. On the other hand, organ, tissue, and cell transfer is subject to failure, which might expose the patient to more danger that they initially faced, and the donor to a problem they never had. These issues need to be addressed by law. Anchored on these emerging paradigms, this paper explores the mysteries and the realities of human organ, tissue, and cell transfer and the extent to which the law has addressed them. It then recommends legislative repeal to address the issues raised.