Mediheal Group of Hospitals and two other facilities are currently under investigation for illegal organ harvesting. This probe began after it was discovered that foreign patients had received organ transplants paid for by the now-defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).
Appearing before the National Assembly's Health Committee in Eldoret on August 28, 2025, hospital leaders from the facilities admitted that some of their hospitals had performed transplants on foreign patients.
The facility leaders claimed that these patients, most of whom were Somali, were registered and paid for through the now-defunct NHIF.
Robert Pukose, Endebess MP and committee member, questioned officials from one of the hospitals about whether they had treated any foreign patients.
"Among the patients who have received kidney transplants, were there any foreigners?" Pukose asked.
In response, a medical officer at Mediheal hospital, confirmed that five patients were from Somalia.
When the committee members inquired about the origin of the donors, hospital representatives explained that one of the medical centres was responsible for finding and matching donors with recipients.
"The role of identifying and pairing potential donors and recipients belongs to one of the Medical Centres for Kidney and Chronic Diseases, with whom we have a memorandum of understanding (MOU). Most of the cases involved blood relatives," the medical officer said.
The committee demanded that the hospital representatives provide details of all transplants conducted, including the nationality, identification, and contact information of both the recipients and donors.
Based on the records presented to the committee, one of the facilities had performed 34 kidney transplants. When pressed for more information, the hospital admitted that some of the cases had resulted in complications.
“There were one or two instances of rejection after surgery, some bleeding that required patients to return to theatre, and one donor who developed acute kidney injury but recovered after treatment. We have also received information about a few patients who passed away after surgery," said a hospital representative.
Despite admitting to gaps in their follow-up and coordination, hospital officials maintained they had not committed any malpractice. They emphasised that all transplants were conducted in accordance with Kenyan laws, including the Health Act 2017, the Human Tissues Act, and the Data Protection Act, as well as ethical standards on autonomy, justice, and consent.
