By Frank Kamuntu
Residents of Kipkenyo in Uasin Gishu County in Kenya have raised concerns over the number of locals selling their kidneys.
The kidneys are valued from over KSh 200,000 (about Ugx 5,625,740), to about KSh 700,000 (about Ugx19,690,090) which is way below the international prices of KSh 11 million (about Ugx309,415,700).
Several reports have captured how youths sold their kidneys to acquire motorbikes for their boda boda business.
According to the publication, the cost of a kidney was approximately US dollars 1,000 plus a motorbike. Many Kenyan youths yearn to own a motorbike as a source of income through boda boda transport.
The publication shared the story of Joseph Japiny, 30, from Homa Bay County, who confessed that he acquired his motorbike by selling his kidney. Citing ENACT, an organisation that builds knowledge and skills to enhance Africa’s response to transnational organised crime, ISS reported that Japiny said that Jadhot, a middleman dealing in kidney sales, linked him to buyers.
He explained that Jadhot linked Eldoret, Busia, and Nairobi youths to kidney buyers.
Kidney prices in Kenya’s black market Japiny, for instance, was paid US dollars 984, a down payment of about KSh 128,000 (about Ugx3,600,474) before the operation, and the remaining KSh 128,000 (about Ugx3,600,474) or thereabout in the form of a Boxer motorbike.
He narrated that he underwent tests at a private facility in Eldoret. After two weeks, he was offered food and accommodation for about a month as he underwent blood and urine tests ahead of the surgery. All this while, someone was assigned to look after him and watch all his moves.
The ISS report aside, a report by the International Society of Nephrology has listed at least 100 cases of organ trafficking in the country. In the study, whose findings were presented in December 2023 during the 2023 Kenya Renal Association Conference (KRACON 2023), poor Kenyans were victims of the organ trafficking syndicate.
At least 100 cases were reported in a presentation during the Mombasa conference. According to the International Society, the kidneys were sold at an average price of KSh 700,000 (about Ugx19,690,090).
The Kenya Renal Association cited a lack of public reports and collusion by bosses of agencies that need to fight against organ trafficking. KRA called on the Kenya Blood and Transplant Authority and the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentist Union (KMPDU) to speak out vocally against the vice to safeguard vulnerable groups.
Kidney business in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu The association said the illegal kidney transplant business was hinged on poverty, a lack of clear legislation, and exploitation. At the back of these reports, residents of Kipkenyo in Uasin Gishu county have raised concern about an increasing number of locals selling their kidneys to wiggle their way out of poverty.
In a report by People Daily, one of the residents listed the names of two people who had donated their kidneys for monetary gains and several others who had contacted brokers and called on relevant authorities to intervene.
The concern is that most of those accepting the offers to sell their kidneys are never told the dangers that come with donating their organs, like the high risk of high blood pressure, reduced kidney activity, and subsequent failure.
According to the Aga Khan Hospital, in Kenya, the law only allows one source of kidneys for transplantation. These are living-related donors (blood relatives of the recipient up to the fourth degree of consanguinity).
In 2023, Kenyatta National Hospital warned Kenyans against selling their kidneys for financial gain, citing it as illegal.
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