Ugandan Lawmakers Pass Law to Curb Trade in Human Organs

Ugandan Lawmakers Pass Law to Curb Trade in Human Organs
Ugandan flag during a match between Jamaica and Uganda in the Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament in Cape Town, South Africa, on Sept. 9, 2022. (Rodger Bosch/AFP via Getty Images)
Reuters
9/29/2022
Updated:
9/29/2022

KAMPALA—Ugandan lawmakers passed legislation on Thursday to ban any trade in human body parts, after a series of media reports about criminals using force and trickery to take people’s organs.

The law will impose punishments up to life imprisonment and fines up to 2 billion Ugandan shillings ($520,000) and introduce regulations to strengthen controls on organ transplants and donations, officials said.

According to the media reports, there have been cases where vulnerable domestic workers have lost kidneys and other organs after being pressed into having unnecessary operations.

The tissue was sold for use in transplants and other procedures abroad, the reports said.

“Parliament ... passes the Uganda Human Organ Donation and Transplant Bill, 2022 at third reading,” the assembly said on Twitter.