The Kenyatta National Hospital has issued a statement explaining the circumstances that led to a transplanted kidney being removed from a patient at the facility after said patient filed a police report.
This comes just a day after the patient, a woman who had received a kidney from her brother, recorded a statement at the Capitol Hill Police Station in Nairobi.
The patient and her family were seeking answers from the Level 6 hospital after the alleged transplant failed under mysterious circumstances.
Now, KNH has outlined the circumstances that led to the kidney failure, from the patient being diagnosed with kidney failure in 2022, to the kidney transplant and the subsequent removal in February 2025.
"Our attention has been drawn to an article regarding a female patient seeking answers on a kidney transplant donated by their brother at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH)," part of the statement by the hospital CEO William Sigilai read.
Sigilai relayed that the patient was diagnosed with kidney failure and underwent regular haemodialysis treatment at a different facility from 2022 until August 2024, when she visited KNH's transplant clinic with her brother, who would be the kidney donor.
By February 12, 2025, Sigilai stated that the pair had received professional counselling and clinical and multidisciplinary team evaluation in preparation for the procedure, and all the necessary pre-transplant investigations and processes had been completed, leading to their admission in preparation for the transplant.
Unfortunately, after the surgery, the hospital claimed that the transplanted kidney did not start functioning, and the post-transplant assessment showed reduced blood flow to the kidney.
Further assessment of the kidney by the doctors in the theatre reportedly determined that the kidney was not viable, and thus they removed it to protect her health.
"Laboratory analysis confirmed that the loss was due to a blood clot in the transplanted kidney, a recognised but rare complication in kidney transplantation," the statement read in part.
Subsequently, she was discharged on March 5 with a plan to resume dialysis and regular check-ups and on March 11, she was reviewed at the transplant clinic and advised on further follow-up, according to the hospital.
The hospital further relayed that, although uncommon, situations where a kidney is rejected by the recipient's body were a documented medical risk in kidney transplantation and accounted for eight per cent of all cases worldwide.
In the 2024/2027 Financial Year, for instance, Sigilai revealed that KNH had performed 22 kidney transplants, with 21 successful outcomes.
