Kenyan Man Who Sold Kidney at KSh 500k to Buy Motorbike, Educate Siblings Regrets Move: "I'm Weak"

 

Last week, TUKO.co.ke highlighted concerning reports that showed young and low-income Kenyans had resorted to selling kidneys as their way out of poverty. The 35-year-old man said he regrets his decision because his health has deteriorated. Organ harvesting syndicate in Kenya One of the studies published by the Institute of Security Studies (ISS) captured how organ syndicates were preying on poor Kenyans.TUKO.co.ke also obtained photos of slides of presentations from the Kenya Renal Association Conference (KRACON) held in Mombasa on Saturday, September 30, that pointed to cases of individuals donating kidneys to non-relatives in contravention of Kenyan law.  In an exclusive interview with TUKO.co.ke a week after the report, Ben Otieno (not his real name), from Homa Bay county, admitted that he sold his kidneys in 2023 to address a financial crisis. He sought anonymity because the broker who linked him to the kidney buyers warned him not to speak about the deal lest he face unspecified consequences. Homa Bay man sells kidney to buy motorbike "Through a local middleman I consulted, they told me they would offer me KSh 500,000. I had seen one of my friends with a new motorbike and asked him how he acquired it and that was when he linked be to the broker," recounted the 35-year-old, who regrets his move. According to Otieno, his friend told him he got money to expand his boda boda business by selling one of his kidneys. Otieno was also a boda boda rider. The friend linked him to the middleman in the organ harvesting syndicate, and after agreeing on the amount he would get for his kidney, Otieno was scheduled for a clinic in Eldoret. Otieno told TUKO.co.ke that he was together with two other young men when he visited the clinic for an assessment before the kidney removal. Kidney transplant hospitals in Eldoret "We went to a private hospital in Eldoret three days after I, together with the two others interested in selling their kidneys, concluded negotiating with the broker," said Otieno. This was in early 2023, according to Otieno. "He took me and the two others for tests and to meet the receiver of the kidney whom I talked to, and we agreed," said Otieno, adding that he sympathised with the receiver who seemingly had suffered kidney problems for a long time and both kidneys were affected then.  Otieno termed the kidney removal process ambiguous and risky and would not advise anyone to undergo it. "The surgery started at around 9 a.m., and I only returned to my senses six hours later. There was not much pain, but I had to remain at the hospital for medical checkups and post-surgery assessment for over a week," he noted. The youthful man confessed that he made the decision behind his wife's back because he knew she would not consent to it. Kenyan man sells kidney for KSh 500,000 Otieno, a father of two, said the obligation to provide for his wife, their two children, and his three orphaned siblings pushed him to sell his kidney. "I had three orphans to take care of and my own family. I tried so many ways to find school fees for them because I didn't want them to drop out of school like I did. The recipient paid me KSh 500,000, which I used to pay for the entire high school fees for my siblings," he narrated. The rest of the money he earned was used to buy a motorcycle and build a semi-permanent house on his father's land. Over a year later. Otieno is not proud of the decisions he made and called on other Kenyans not to donate their organs for money because of the post-surgery complications. Effects of kidney donation "I would not advise anyone to sell a kidney. Whatever you go through during and after the removal is hurtful. Besides, it's illegal. My body is weaker than before. I struggle to do ordinary chores that I initially did with ease," added Otieno. He also noted some of the humiliation he has endured since making that decision, citing an incident when his middleman warned him not to mention his name in case he got arrested, as that would ruin his business. "I remember being arrested the day I left the hospital. I had to find my way out because I had been warned not to say who took me there. Sometimes, they buy your kidney and then set up to police officers who extort you all the money you got because they know the business is illegal.," he recounted.  He also said he had witnessed the middleman arrested only once, but since then, he has been doing his business as usual. His cry echoes the concerns of the International Society of Nephrology, which acknowledged cases of illegal or non-relative organ transplant cases in Kenya. The report by ISN and other partners pointed to over 100 cases of illegal organ transplants and put some medical practitioners and health administrators on the spot for perpetrating the illegality. According to the reports, the middlemen sell the kidney abroad for at least KSh 4 million and at most KSh 11 million, which is eight and 22 times more than what they pay for the organ. The Kenya Renal Association attributed the worrying trend to a lack of public reports on the real situation, loopholes in legislation, and collusion of bosses of agencies tasked with safeguarding Kenyans from organ harvesting syndicates.  KRA called on the Kenya Blood and Transplant Authority and the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentist Union (KMPDU) to speak out vocally against the vice to safeguard vulnerable groups. According to the National Foundation of Kidney, donors may be prone to high blood pressure and reduced kidney function and need to be in close contact with transplant hospitals. In 2022, the Kenyatta National Hospital warned Kenyans against selling their organs, citing it as a health risk as well as a contravention of the Kenyan law. 

by  Michael Ollinga Oruko