Mediheal Hospital has refuted any wrongdoing following an investigative exposé claiming the medical facility was the hub of an unlawful organ trafficking ring.
The hospital has defended its kidney transplant procedures, with the owners challenging anyone with a genuine account of their organs being harvested to come forward with proof.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, April 23, the hospital's legal representatives insisted that all operations carried out were done legally and ethically by licensed professionals.
“For someone out there to say there is a hospital selling organs, they are attacking the entire medical system in this country," one of the hospital's lawyers said.
The medical facility made international headlines following an investigation by DW in collaboration with fellow German public broadcaster ZDF and Der Spiegel, which uncovered an international network of organ donors and recipients coordinated by criminal brokers.
With the exposé sparking public concern, the National Assembly Health Committee on Tuesday launched an 80-day public inquiry into the allegations. The DCI also announced that its elite Transnational Organised Crime Unit (TOCU) would take over the case.
Amid investigations from different state agencies, the hospital went a step further on Wednesday, welcoming a full public audit and inviting anyone with concerns to come forward and examine the process firsthand.
According to the exposé, vulnerable individuals, including young Kenyans, were coerced or misled into giving up their kidneys for money, with the organs going to wealthy recipients mainly from Israel and Germany.
But in a rejoinder, the hospital's lawyers claimed that foreign elements, possibly rivals, were hell-bent on bringing them down, allegedly because of the success they have experienced in recent years.
The hospital claims to have performed 476 kidney transplants, 62 of which involved patients from Israel.
"When we hear a patient is coming from Israel—a developed state—to Eldoret, we need to be proud of ourselves for that. Someone out there is not happy that Kenya is offering these services, and they want to tarnish our name," the lawyers added.
Meanwhile, Aden Duale continued his cleanup of the country's health sector, issuing a fresh directive to the Council of Clinical Officers (COC) on how clinicians are hired.
To ensure the new directive is followed to the letter, the CS ordered the council to undertake a comprehensive re-inspection of all licensed health facilities and submit detailed reports to the ministry.
This, he said, could safeguard the standards of training and professional practice, which he noted was paramount to ensuring the health and safety of the public.
