Hospital Reminds Desperate Kenyans It Won't Buy Kidneys

Nation is deep into a cost of living crisis worsened by Russian blockade in Ukraine
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 21, 2022 2:12 PM CDT
Hospital Reminds Desperate Kenyans It Won't Buy Kidneys
Farmer Serhiy throws grains from a bucket in his barn in the village of Ptyche, in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine earlier this month. Serhiy says he cannot sell his grain because nobody wants to come to the area while it's being shelled by Russian forces.   (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

With the price of food and other necessities soaring, a hospital has found it necessary to remind desperate Kenyans that they shouldn't try to raise money by selling an organ. "How much for my kidney?" is now the question most often posted to Kenyatta National Hospital, a Facebook post said, per CNN. "Please note that organ sale is strictly prohibited and illegal," the hospital answered. "You can only donate out of free will." More directly, the hospital posted that it doesn't buy kidneys.

The nation's cost of living crisis has been exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Wheat shipments haven't been allowed out of Ukraine, causing shortages and driving prices up. The response among African nations to the war has been divided, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the African Union on Monday to ask for more support. "This war may seem very distant to you and your countries," he said, per the BBC. "But the food prices that are catastrophically rising have already brought [the war] to the homes of millions of African families." Zelensky said his government is negotiating to free up the grain and fertilizer shipments stopped by a Russian blockade. (More Kenya stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X