Medical experts have dismissed widespread rumours of illegal kidney harvesting in Kenya, telling a parliamentary inquiry that such acts are “medically impossible” given the country’s current technical limitations.
Their testimony before the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Health instead pinpointed a crisis of weak regulation, inadequate infrastructure, and logistical failures as the real scandals plaguing the nation's transplant system.
The committee learned the country’s capacity for organ transplantation is severely hampered by the lack of a reliable courier system for blood samples.
It emerged that despite Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) offering the crucial tissue typing test needed to match donors and recipients, clinicians are often forced to send samples to private labs or even abroad.
Dr Matthew Koech, a nephrologist at the Oak Tree Centre for Kidney and Chronic Diseases, explained the hurdle they face when handling transplants.
“KNH lacks a reliable courier system to guarantee the safe and timely transport of blood samples, a fundamental requirement for accurate results,” he testified.
This was corroborated by chief laboratory technologist Robert Mangeni, who contrasted the services offered by KNH and those by the private sector players.
“When Metropolis or Lancet come for the samples, we are confident they are in safe hands,” he said.
“But with KNH, unless I personally take the samples to Nairobi, they risk being mishandled. By the time they reach the lab, they may have already dried up.”
The logistical breakdown was identified as the primary barrier to establishing a sustainable deceased donor programme, which is deemed a vital solution to the organ shortage.
Dr Koech detailed the complex nature of the existing system, noting that a kidney from a deceased person must be typed, harvested and transplanted within a narrow six-hour window.
“If an accident victim is declared brain-dead and the family consents, we are unable to act within the required time. We do not yet have the systems and coordination in place to make this possible,” he said.
It was within this context that the experts forcefully debunked sensational claims of organs being stolen and stored.
Dr Koech testified that the very idea of harvesting a kidney in a remote location for later use in not medically and scientifically possible.
“There is no way you can remove a kidney from someone today and store it for use later,” he asserted, explaining that a kidney cannot be preserved for more than 24 hours even in advanced global settings.
“The intricate process of typing and surgery requires a formal clinical setting,” he added, also discounting allegations related to the Shakahola victims.
The inquiry also focused on the sensitive issue of foreign patients, particularly from Somalia, who seek transplants in Kenyan hospitals.
Administrators admitted that these patients frequently navigate a significant legal void, often arriving with willing donors but without official clearance from their government.
Diana Chepngetich, a transplant coordinator, highlighted the ethical dilemma they have to balance very time they have such cases.
“We have tried to be fair and humane, but the law is silent on whether foreigners need clearance. That legal gap exposes both doctors and patients,” she said.
The ambiguity prompted lawmakers to question how foreign patients could access the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) and whether hospitals were adhering to any existing protocols.
The session also revealed tensions between institutions, with Endebess MP Robert Pukose questioning why some facilities still use Indian labs when KNH offers the service.
The experts in their response reiterated the core issue, that without a trustworthy national courier system, even local capacity remains out of reach for many.
The experts warned that Kenya’s almost total reliance on living family donors is unsustainable.
The absence of a national patient-donor database, a standard tool in countries like the UK and Spain, forces desperate patients into unethical options.
The committee stressed the urgency to strengthen both its legal and medical frameworks in the country, with parliamentary committee on health chairman and Seme MP James Nyikal stating, “We are dealing with human lives and serious ethical questions. We must close the legal gaps that allow confusion, exploitation, or malpractice to thrive.”
INSTANT ANALYSIS
The inquiry comes at a time when the country has been treated to shocking revelations of people selling their vital organs out of desperation for cash. It highlights that the cost of inaction is measured not just in shillings, but in the very lives of citizens waiting for a lifeline. While some families are lucky to get donors, others suffer and, unfortunately, lose their loved ones for lack of ready tissue replacements.
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