Kenyatta National Hospital Head of Renal Unit John Ngigi has said many people suffering from kidney disease prefer going through dialysis rather than undergoing a transplant.
He spoke on Tuesday at the Kenyatta National Hospital where stakeholders in the medical field gathered to mark World Transplant Day.
"The number of kidney transplants in the country is still low because a majority of patients opt for dialysis treatment," Ngigi said.
Between 2012 and 2022, only 708 kidney transplants were done in Kenya.
In 2021, there were only 160 kidney transplants against 5,700 kidney patients who were undergoing hemodialysis.
Ngigi said the conversion rate from dialysis to transplant stands at 2.8 percent in Kenya.
Globally, the conversion rate from dialysis to transplant is approximately 10 percent.
Ngigi said kidney transplants are always recommended for patients who are eligible for the procedure as it improves the patient's quality of life.
"Kidney transplant is a better solution than dialysis as the ailing kidney is replaced by a healthy one. A patient who undergoes a kidney transplant has the opportunity to lead a quality productive life. The procedure can increase a patient's life expectancy by up to 20 years," Ngigi said.
But these patients don't reject kidney transplants by choice. Many don't have the financial muscle the procedure requires.
The doctor explained that after a kidney transplant is done, the patient is put on medication to ensure the body does not reject the new organ.
"After the surgery, the patient is put on medication to suppress the immune system which might fight the new kidney," Ngigi said.
He said the post-care medication after the transplant is also expensive.
Most of the patients on dialysis have health coverage from the National Health Insurance Fund which pays for the procedure.
But NHIF only helps one cover the dialysis and transplant costs but not the post-transplant care which turns out to be costly.
This forces many kidney patients to live on dialysis as they cannot afford the costly post-transplant care.
Cost is not the only challenge. Getting a kidney donor most times proves to be a major setback as many wait for months to years to get a compatible donor.
