MPs Probe Kidney Transplants At St. Luke’s And Oak Tree Hospitals In Organ Trafficking Inquiry

The parliamentary probe into alleged malpractice in kidney transplants at Mediheal Group of Hospitals has now widened to include St. Luke’s Orthopaedic and Trauma Hospital and Oak Tree Medical Centre.

Appearing before the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Health in Eldoret on Thursday, administrators of the two facilities admitted that they had carried out transplants on foreign nationals — mainly Somalis — who were registered and paid through the now-defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).

Committee member Endebess MP Dr. Robert Pukose pressed St. Luke’s officials to confirm whether they had treated foreigners.
“Yes, five patients were from Somalia,” said Dr. Silvia Nikita, a medical officer at St. Luke’s.

The hospital explained that Oak Tree Medical Centre was responsible for identifying and pairing recipients with donors. “Most of the cases involved blood relatives,” Dr. Nikita told MPs.

However, lawmakers raised concerns that hospitals may not have verified whether donors were truly related to recipients.
“We are not new to the fact that there has been a lot of talk about kidney selling. We want assurance that what you are doing here follows national guidelines,” said Seme MP Dr. James Nyikal.

The committee demanded full details of all transplants carried out, including names, nationality, and contact information of both donors and recipients. Records presented showed St. Luke’s had conducted 34 kidney transplants.

Hospital officials admitted that complications had occurred in some cases, including surgery rejections, bleeding that required further operations, and one donor who developed acute kidney injury but later recovered. They also acknowledged reports from Oak Tree that some patients had died after surgery.

MPs questioned why St. Luke’s relied on Oak Tree and foreign laboratories for crucial tests when local facilities were available. They also sought clarification on where consent was obtained, since St. Luke’s admitted that pre-operative tests, nephrology consultations, and consent signing were done at Oak Tree.

Lawmakers also challenged how foreigners, including Somalis, were covered by NHIF.
Senior administrator Mary Lelei explained that the NHIF Act allowed foreigners with temporary residency to access cover, citing cases of Chinese nationals working on road projects.

Despite admitting to gaps in coordination and follow-up, hospital officials insisted that all procedures were done under Kenyan law, guided by the Health Act 2017, the Human Tissues Act, and ethical principles of consent and justice.

But MPs demanded transparency.

“When you withhold information, you raise unnecessary suspicion,” said Nyeri Town MP Dancun Mathenge. “Give us accurate records of all transplants, the donors, their nationality, and how consent was obtained.”

The probe continues Friday, with MPs set to hear from alleged victims and donors, as well as the proprietor of Mediheal Group of Hospitals, which is at the centre of the inquiry.