Report reveals i*****l kidney trade syndicate in Eldoret

A kidney and organ trafficking syndicate has hit Eldoret town with a new report exposing how buyers from overseas are purchasing a kidney for Sh700,000.

Report by International Society of Nephrology with other partners showed over 100 cases of organ trafficking cases. It was conducted in December last year.

According to the report, donors are taking advantage of poor Kenyans as over 100 youth are involved, some having already sold their kidneys for profits.

Investigating committee, under the Kenya Renal Association, reveals lack of public reports for the past five months and accuses certain individuals including chief executives of relevant authorities, of being paid off.

Committee calls on CEOs of the Kenya Blood and Transplant Authority and Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Council to provide more information about the vice to prevent further harm to the vulnerable youth.

Report further claims that the transplants are being done in a major hospital in Eldoret ‘under the watch of relevant ministry officials’ and has called on the Government to intervene. “The issue of illegal kidney transplants has been a significant and troubling problem, stemming from a complex interplay of poverty, lack of regulation and exploitation. Vulnerable populations, particularly those from impoverished backgrounds, are often targeted by organ trafficking networks,” notes the report seen by People Daily.

In one of the incidences, a village elder in Uasin Gishu is said to have sold his in February through a broker.

Report further states that these networks deceive or coerce individuals into selling their kidneys, often for a fraction of the potential market value.  Operations frequently occur under unsafe conditions, posing severe health risks to the donors, it notes.

Report indicates that the trade is fueled by the high demand for kidney transplants and the shortage of legally available organs.

“Inadequate legal frameworks and corruption within certain segments of the medical community allow this illicit activity to persist,” it says.

The report claims the kidneys are shipped overseas where they are sold for as much as Sh4 million.