Taskforce recommends prosecution of Mishra for alleged organ trafficking

Dr Swarup Mishra is the founder of Mediheal Hospital which is accused of organ trafficking. [File, Standard]

A taskforce appointed by Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale to investigate potential organ trafficking at Mediheal Hospital has recommended the prosecution of the facility’s founder and chairman, Swarup Mishra.

The report links Mishra and three transplant specialists at the Level 5 hospital to kidney transplants allegedly conducted in violation of national regulations and ethical standards, pointing to possible criminal activity.

“Dr. Swarup Mishra, Dr Murthy (Nephrologist), Dr Sananda Bag (Urologist/ Transplant Surgeon) and Dr Vijay Kumar (Anaesthesiologist) who were involved in kidney transplants at Mediheal Hospital should be investigated for their potential criminal involvement in organ trafficking and for possible violations of national transplant laws and ethical standards,” reads part of the Independent Investigative Committee’s report.

The taskforce has also called for the arrest and prosecution of all medics involved in irregular transplants, as well as those allegedly engaged in trafficking people for organ harvesting.

Further, it has called for upholding of the moratorium barring registration of foreign doctors until a proper framework if formulated.

Chaired by Prof Elizabeth Bukusi, the committee further recommends the continued suspension of the Eldoret-based Mediheal Hospital pending further investigations, citing systemic flaws in operations and documentation.

The hospital alone accounted for 81 percent of all recorded organ donors and 76 percent of recipients across facilities since 2020, an unusually high volume that raised red flags.While slightly more than half of the recipients were Kenyan, 27 percent were foreigners, with Israelis making up 13 percent, the largest foreign group.

Meanwhile, 77 percent of the donors were men, a significant number of them from Azerbaijan, under questionable circumstances. Despite Israelis being the largest foreign recipients, only two percent of them donated organs.

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Notably, 38 percent of both donors and recipients lacked proper documentation, making it difficult to verify their nationalities and places of residence.

The committee also uncovered widespread use of poorly completed affidavits, crucial legal documents in transplants, and conflicts of interest involving hospital personnel.

The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC), the regulatory body, has also been cited for alleged negligence.

“KMPDC should be investigated for potential regulatory failure and possible criminal collusion due to their repeated inaction on reports of wrongdoing at Mediheal Hospital,” the team noted.

“Further investigation is recommended into individuals at regulatory bodies who failed to adequately supervise and regulate the provision of highly specialised services despite numerous documented written complaints,” it added.

In addition to calling for immediate legal action, the taskforce has also proposed comprehensive legal and operational guidelines to govern tissue and organ transplant services.

The 15-member committee was formed in June following a media exposé revealing how mostly young, unsuspecting Kenyans were allegedly lured into selling their kidneys, which were then transplanted into both local and foreign patients.