Health authorities are set to tighten regulations and enhance oversight of organ transplants in the country, following revelations of ethical and procedural lapses that may threaten the credibility of Kenya’s growing transplant services.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has affirmed that the Ministry of Health will launch a countrywide clinical audit of transplant facilities to ensure full compliance with existing laws and ethical standards. This comes in response to findings by a multidisciplinary task force that flagged inconsistencies and regulatory breaches at several transplant centres, notably Mediheal Hospital in Eldoret.
“The allegation of organ trafficking must be investigated by the relevant authorities, as some of the recipients and donors are coming from more advanced health systems to a relatively new transplant programme, and the reasons given cannot be ascertained,” said Duale, underlining the need for a deep probe into cross-border transplant activity.
According to the investigative team which included kidney transplant specialists, medical ethicists, and officials from the Kenya Blood Transfusion and Transplant Services the existing framework for organ donations has loopholes that allow exploitation, particularly by foreign nationals seeking transplant services in Kenya.
Among the key findings were inadequate verification of donor-recipient relationships, unapproved international shipment of human tissue samples, and communication barriers due to lack of translated documentation for non-English speaking patients. “Foreigners coming into the country for transplant services need a centralized registry for reference and must indicate their relationship status with the necessary documentation from their country of origin,” Duale emphasized.
The task force also flagged high-risk transplant cases, including procedures performed on patients with confirmed prostate cancer and others involving donor-recipient pairs with poor compatibility.
Duale stressed that these revelations highlight the urgent need for regulatory reform and transparency in the transplant ecosystem. “This is not just about one hospital it’s about safeguarding the integrity of our healthcare system and ensuring that no one is exploited in the name of medical care.”
As part of a broader strategy, the Ministry will now audit Mediheal and seven other transplant facilities nationwide to enforce tighter control and raise the standard of care.
