The Kenyan government has suspended all kidney transplant procedures at Mediheal Group of Hospitals following damning allegations of organ trafficking linked to the facility.
In a statement on Wednesday, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said the move was prompted by “credible concerns from government and citizens” regarding Mediheal’s ethical practices in carrying out transplant procedures.
“Effective immediately, all transplant services — particularly kidney transplants — at Mediheal Group of Hospitals are hereby suspended until further notice,” said Duale. “Patients currently under care are advised to seek services at eight licensed transplant centres.”
These include Kenyatta National Hospital, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Aga Khan University Hospital, M.P. Shah, Nairobi Hospital, St. Luke’s Eldoret, Nairobi West, and Mater Hospital.
The suspension follows an investigative documentary aired by German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW), which alleged Mediheal was at the centre of a transnational organ trade network. According to the exposé, the hospital facilitated kidney transplants involving wealthy recipients from Somalia, Israel, and Germany, while sourcing donors from poorer nations, including Kenya, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Pakistan.
DW’s report detailed how some donors were misled into signing papers identifying them as relatives of recipients they had never met. Others reportedly gave consent without fully understanding the medical risks, with allegations that some were minors at the time of surgery.
The revelations have sparked outrage in Kenya and drawn international attention. Israel’s government has called for a formal investigation into any involvement of its citizens in the alleged syndicate.
Duale has since appointed an independent audit committee to examine Mediheal’s transplant records from the past five years. The panel is expected to report back within 90 days.
Two senior Ministry of Health officials — Dr Morris Wakwabi, head of Blood Donation and Transplantation, and Dr Everlyne Chege, of the Multidisciplinary Transplant Unit — have been suspended pending the outcome of the investigations.
The ministry has named Dr Martin Sirengo as the acting head of the transplant division.
The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has also been instructed to halt licensing of foreign doctors from outside the East African region until further notice. A full audit of foreign medical practitioners is to be undertaken.
Meanwhile, Mediheal has strongly denied any wrongdoing. The hospital has reportedly threatened legal action against DW and demanded the documentary be retracted.
Despite the denials, questions remain over how such a scheme — if proven true — could have operated under the radar of Kenya’s health authorities.
Duale said the government was “committed to protecting the dignity and safety of all patients,” and warned that “anyone found culpable will face the full force of the law.”
The story continues to unfold, and for many Kenyans — especially families of patients awaiting transplants — the outcome of the audit could not come soon enough.
