No shortage of kidney donors, we lack regulation

The kidney is the most transplanted organ in Kenya. [iStockphoto]

When I undertook my medical degree at Kenyatta National Hospital a few years ago, I was surprised to learn what was meant to be a helipad, is now a football field and that the last time a helicopter landed on the KNH helipad, it blew away the mabati roofs of surrounding structures, and it was carrying a politician who was passing by the hospital.

Helipads in hospitals are mainly for emergency medical evacuations. In more advanced settings, they also serve a purpose in transplant surgery as organs are received daily from the peripheral centres for immediate transfer to patients on a waiting list.