The Ministry of Health has developed a new bill that if passed into law will see more Kenyans in need of transplant of various organs easily access the services in local hospitals.
Kenya Tissue and Transplant Authority (KTTA) acting Chief Executive Officer Dr Maurice Wakwabubi says the bill is ready, waiting to be presented to the Attorney General for consideration before being forwarded to Parliament.
The National Transfusion and Transplant Bill, of 2023, seeks to establish the Kenya Blood Transplant Authority that will be mandated to among others organize, and coordinate blood, cells, tissues, and organ supply networks.
“It’s a very crucial bill because it will give the authority powers to collect blood, cells, tissues and organs,” Dr Wakwabubi told Uasin Gishu News.
He further pointed out that as much as some of the transplants are being done in the country – only those with money and influence can have access to them.
But once the bill becomes law, it will be easier for a Kenyan citizen, irrespective of their status to get the transplant.
Currently, most health facilities do kidney transplants but Dr Wakwabubi says that the new bill will open up opportunities for more complex transplants like for the cornea, liver as well as borne marrows.
“We have about 6,000 patients that need kidney transplant and many others that need cornea transplant but are being held back because we do not have a framework to harvest those cornea to facilitate the transplant,” notes the KTTA acting chief Executive Officer.
Licence transplant centres
The National Transfusion and Transplant Bill, 2023, provide that the authority shall have the mandate to license blood transfusion facilities, transplant centres and organ retrieval centres.
Further, “the authority shall establish and maintain a national waiting list for organ, tissue and cell recipients drawn from registered transplant centres”. The waiting list shall be maintained by the National Centre for Notification, Allocation and Distribution which the authority shall establish.
“The authority shall ensure that organs, tissues and cells are allocated to patients on the national waiting list in a transparent and fair manner as shall be prescribed…” read part of the draft Bill seen by Uasin Gishu News.
It also provides circumstances under which an individual organ can be harvested and who can perform the procedure.
These provisions, Dr Wakwabubi says will ensure organ traffickers have no room to engage in criminal activities.
The Bill provides that “the retrieval and preservation of human organs, tissues and cells of transplantation shall only be performed by a registered health professional and regulations.”
“This bill looks at the donor and recipient. It provides that we must have a register of people who have undergone transplants and donors,” he says, adding that “if we don’t have that legal framework, we will be looked at as an organ trafficking country – someone can grab you, harvest your organs and transplant to another person without your consent.”
Approval for organ retrieval
In the proposed Bill, an organ retrieval centre receiving a potential donor shall be required to notify the authority and it shall only go ahead and do the retrieval after receiving approval.
“A patient who is a potential organ donor shall be provided with the best possible treatment, in their best interest and in hope that they shall survive,” notes the Bill that will be subjected to public participation before it gets final approval from Parliament.
