An international organ trading network takes advantage of vulnerable people in Kenya and the hopes of those who need desperate instruments in Germany. A DW study with ZDF and Spiegel.

The twenty -two -year -old Amen Kiproto Thought thought that by selling his kidney, he would start a new, better life. Life in a village in West Kenya was difficult for him after the Covid pandemic. He struggles to find a steady income, moving from one job to another – to a car dealer, a construction site and elsewhere. One day, a friend told him about a quick and easy way to earn $ 6,000. “He told me it would be a good deal to sell my kidney“, Amen said. He sounded like an opportunity, but led him to a dark network of exploitation, despair and remorse.

The German media Der Spiegel, ZDF and DW identified the trails of the sellers and the buyers, analyzed documents, spoke with informants and health professionals, and revealed how an international network – extending from a hospital in Kenya, attracted German. Young, desperate for money, and the elderly, desperate for an organ that saves lives. AMON was presented to an intermediary who organized the transfer to Mediheal Hospital in Eldoret, western Kenya. There he was accepted by Indian doctors who gave him documents in English, a language he did not understand.

A union of exploitation

He was not informed of risks about his health. “They didn’t explain to me anything. The one who had taken me showed the people around us and said: Look, everyone made donations, and they will even return to work” After the surgery, he was only paid $ 4,000 instead of the $ 6,000 that had been promised. With them, he bought a phone and a quick car. Immediately afterwards, his health deteriorated. He felt dizzy and weak and eventually fainted at home. His mother was shocked when he learned that her son had sold his kidney. The story of AMON seems to be one of the many.

Vilis Okoumou, an organized crime researcher from Nairobi at the Institute of Security Studies in Africa, spoke with several young men who told him that they had sold their kidneys to the city of Ogougis, 180 kilometers southwest of Eldore. “In fact, this is an organized crime, “he said. He estimates that up to a hundred young men alone in Ogougis may have sold their kidneys, many of whom suffer from health problems, as well as depression and psychological trauma. ‘I don’t think they will reach 60“, He added. DW talked to four young men in Ogugis who say they sold their kidneys for just $ 2,000. They told how, after their surgery, their brokers asked them to “recruit” new donors for a $ 400 commission.

The donor became a military

A chain of exploitation “there is a legal gray zone that exploits this trade union,” Okoumou explained. “There is no law that prevents you from donating your kidney for money and you cannot be persecuted for it,” he said, referring to information received from the Kenya International Crime Unit. What is permitted, in accordance with Kenya’s law, is the donations of bodies to relatives or for altruistic reasons.

Speaking to DW on the condition of anonymity, a former Mediheal Hospital employee revealed that the transaction was started many years ago. Initially, the recipients came from Somalia and donors from Kenya. But then, in 2022, the recipients began to come from Israel and, from 2024, from Germany. Donors for these well -off customers are transported by countries such as Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan or Pakistan.

The source said the donors were asked to sign documents stating that they were relatives with recipients who never met and that they were deprived of kidney removal without being informed of potential health risks, while some of them were not even large enough. “Because of the linguistic barrier, they just sign,” the former employee said.

Transition to a more lucrative market

Ever since they have moved from Somali recipients to Israelis and Germans, businesses have flourished, with each recipient paying up to $ 200,000 for a kidney – an amount confirmed by many sources. The former hospital employee told DW that an agency called “Medlead” was responsible for finding international donors and recipients.

On its website, Medlead claims to provide kidney donations within 30 days “in accordance with organ donation legislation”. On her facebook page there are videos with people who thank Medlead for her help to get a new kidney in Kenya. The latest video on the site shows Sabine Fisher Kugler, a 57 -year -old woman from Gundenhausen, Germany, who has been suffering from kidney disease for 40 years.

After a first kidney replacement stopped working, he was desperate to find a second. But the waiting list for a new kidney in Germany is large, it can take eight to ten years. In Germany, only kidneys of the dead who explicitly agreed on organ donation can be used for transplants and there are not enough donors for more than 10,000 people waiting for kidney.

With their weapon of despair

The lack of organ donations rotates despair and leads abroad. Sabine only met her donor, a 24 -year -old man from Azerbaijan. The contract claimed that it was not paid, although she said she paid between $ 100,000 and $ 200,000 to Medlead. “Maybe I’m a little selfish because I wanted this kidney and most importantly that the contract seemed okay. But it’s clear. The operation is not as clean as it seems. “

According to German legislation, payment for an institution is illegal and offenders face up to five years in prison. The man behind Medlead is an Israeli citizen named Robert Spolanski, who, according to a 2016 indictment by the Tel Aviv Peace Court, has been accused of carrying out a large number of kidney transplants in Sri Lanka, Turkey, Turkey, Turkey, Turkey, He is alleged to have headed the network. Wolfman was accused of already getting involved in illegal transplant activities elsewhere.

‘It’s a little mystery’

Spolanski denies any relationship with Wolfman. In an email to Der Spiegel, the ZDF and DW, Medlead said it has no involvement in detection of donors, that all donors are 100% pure motivation volunteers and that Medlead operates with transparency and in full compliance with the law. The research team went secret to the EKA Hotel in Eldore, just one kilometer from Mediheal Hospital, to speak with foreign patients waiting for transplants.

Some are obviously weak, traveling with family members. A Russian, who was waiting for kidney surgery for her husband, said: “No one gives his kidney free.” A 72 -year -old Israeli who undergoes dialysis at Mediheal Hospital said: “It’s a little mystery. You don’t have to pay, but you pay. The story is that he is a cousin of mine in some way in East Africa at the same time as me. ” At his age he would have no chance of getting kidney in Israel, he said.

Back in Nairobi, Dr. Jonathan Walla, head of the kidney company, has treated several patients who have returned with postoperative complications. “We have reports of Israeli patients returning with serious infections, some with kidneys who have basically died.” His colleagues raised the alarm at the beginning of Kenya for immoral transplants held at Mediheal Hospital.

Business under high protection

In 2023, the Kenya Ministry of Health conducted an investigation at Mediheal Hospital and found that donors and recipients had often had nothing to do with. Some high -risk transplants were performed, such as patients with cancer or extremely elderly. Almost all procedures were paid in cash. The report recommended that “the allegation of organ trading must be investigated by the competent authorities”. Despite the worrying findings, the report was never made public and no measure was taken.

A local private investigator in Eldoret, who has attended illegal cutting trade, said at least two more hospitals are also involved. But, he said, “if I were investigating these cases my life would be in danger.” “There are very powerful people who may be involved.”

The founder and president of the Mediheal Group is Suaroup Missra. The Indian is a former MP and is said to have good relations with Kenya President William Rutto. Despite the persistent charges of organ trading, the president appointed him the president of the Kenyan State Biovax Institute of Biovax last November, a role that allows Misra to represent Kenya at the World Health Organization and the Governors.

Missra did not respond to repeated nuisances for interview and left a list of questions unanswered. In the meantime, AMON and others like him are struggling to survive with a kidney, their health is in danger and their hopes are crushed: “If I could go back in time, I would not have agreed to remove my kidney. I hate myself for that. “

Curated by: Costas Argyros