Samuel K. Doe Jr. Battles for His Life: What Can Liberia Do to Help?

Samuel K. Doe, Jr

Samuel K. Doe Jr., son of one of Liberia’s most consequential presidents, is fighting for his life. Diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure, the 47-year-old former Deputy Managing Director for Operations at the National Port Authority (NPA) is now dependent on regular dialysis to survive. This is happening amid Doe Jr.’s loss of his mother, former First Lady Nancy B. Doe, just days ago to cancer12.

While sources indicate that Doe Jr. may have some level of insurance, the realities of treating end-stage renal disease are grueling and expensive. Dialysis can cost thousands of dollars per month, not including the ancillary expenses of medications, lab tests, transportation, and post-treatment care215. But beyond dialysis lies a glimmer of real hope: a kidney transplant. It’s the one medical intervention that could restore a semblance of normalcy to his life—which costs $56,0004.

It has been gathered that he has a donor—but the necessary medical procedures are being carried out to ensure there’s a match.

Samuel K. Doe Jr.’s father, Master Sergeant Samuel Kanyon Doe, came to power in 1980 through a coup d’état, ending more than a century of Americo-Liberian political dominance169. His rule was marked by both infrastructural development and political controversies169. Doe Jr., unlike his father, has largely kept a low public profile, opting instead for technocratic roles in the public sector.

Now, Liberia faces a moral and humanitarian question: Will a country that once placed the Doe name at the center of its political narrative now relegate his surviving son to the margins? Or will this be a moment of collective grace—an opportunity for Liberia to act not out of politics, but out of shared humanity?

____________________________________________________

Get Involved

Do you have additional facts to add to this insight or an opinion you would like to express?

Email Us

analysis@insightsliberia.com

Additional Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Doe

2. https://www.afro.who.int/countries/liberia/news/president-weah-commissions-liberias-first-national-dialysis-center-and-names-it-honour-his

3. https://afran.org/countries-data/liberia/

4. https://bi-maristan.com/en/general-surgery/organ-transplant/kidney-transplant/

5. https://elbcradio.com/2022/03/01/j-f-kennedy-memorial-hospital-gets-first-dialysis-center/

6. https://africanarguments.org/2015/09/25-years-after-his-demise-samuel-doe-continues-to-cast-a-long-shadow-across-liberian-politics/

7. https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/doe-samuel-kanyon-1951-1990/

8. https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Samuel-K-Doe/609580

9. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Samuel-K-Doe

10. https://www.theisn.org/wp-content/uploads/media/gkha/Africa/2.%20GKHA%202019%20regional%20slides_Africa_v1.2.pdf

11. https://liberiapastandpresent.org/SamuelKDoe.htm

12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Doe

13. https://penglobalinc.com/samuel-dr-doe-the-liberian-president-that-died-a-violent-death

14. https://frontpageafricaonline.com/health/liberia-pres-weah-dedicates-dialysis-center-at-jfk-hospital-in-honor-of-ex-pres-ellen-johnson-sirleaf/

15. https://gnnliberia.com/liberia-first-in-the-history-gets-modern-dialysis-center-equipment/

16. https://frontpageafricaonline.com/news/liberia-doe-family-condemns-exclusion-from-skd-reburial-plans-reaffirms-commitment-to-honoring-late-president-with-dignified-burial/

17. https://www.insightsliberia.com/post/former-first-lady-nancy-b-doe-dies-after-prolonged-illness