Kenya is moving to outlaw the commercial trade in human organs, with a proposed law setting penalties of up to Sh50 million and 25 years in prison for those involved.
The Kenya Blood, Cells, Tissues and Organs Bill, 2026 would criminalize the sale, trafficking and commercial dealing of human organs, cells and tissues.
The legislation, sponsored by the National Assembly Health Committee chaired by Seme MP James Nyikal, would also target people who arrange, advertise or negotiate organ transactions.
Under the proposed law, living donors would not be allowed to sell an organ for money or any other form of compensation.
“A person who offers to supply any human organ, cell or tissue for reward or seeks to find someone willing to supply one for payment commits an offence,” the Bill states.
But the legislation draws a line between selling an organ and covering legitimate costs linked to donation.
Donors could be reimbursed for expenses such as transport, medical examinations, organ removal, preparation, preservation and storage. They could also receive compensation for income lost because of the donation.
Anyone receiving payment outside those permitted expenses could face a fine of up to Sh50 million, a prison term of up to 25 years, or both.
The proposed law comes after concerns over organ transplantation practices in Kenya intensified in 2025.
The Health Ministry suspended kidney transplants at a hospital in Eldoret following allegations of organ harvesting and irregularities in patient recruitment. A subsequent parliamentary investigation cleared the facility but highlighted weaknesses in Kenya’s legal and regulatory framework for transplants.
The new Bill seeks to close those gaps.
It proposes the creation of the Kenya Blood and Transplant Authority (KBTA), which would oversee blood and transplant services and enforce the rules governing organ donation.
The authority would also establish a national waiting list for patients in need of transplants.
The Bill says organs should be allocated through a fair and transparent system and should not be influenced by “politics, race, ethnicity, sex, religion or financial status”.
KBTA would keep records tracking organs from potential donors to recipients, creating a system designed to make the transplant process easier to monitor.
Living donors would have to be registered and screened for transmissible diseases. Non-related living donors would require prior approval from the authority.
The proposed rules would also tighten controls over deceased donors.
Retrieval facilities would need approval before removing organs, cells or tissues. Brain death would have to be confirmed by two independent teams of qualified health professionals, eight hours apart.
Anyone who retrieves human organs without the required authorization could face the same maximum penalty of Sh50 million or 25 years in prison, or both.
The Bill would replace the existing National Blood Transfusion, Tissue and Human Organ Transplant Services with the proposed KBTA.
It would also establish a Blood and Transplant Appeals Tribunal to hear disputes over registration, licensing and unresolved complaints.
If passed, the legislation would mark a major change in how Kenya regulates organ donation, putting the emphasis on consent, traceability and equal access while drawing a firm legal line against the commercial sale of human body parts.
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