The Chief Executive of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Yakubu Seidu Adam, has urged Parliament to expedite the passage of legislation on organ harvesting, stressing that the move would drastically reduce the cost of transplants for patients in Ghana.
The appeal was made during a visit by Parliament’s Health Committee on Wednesday, September 3, 2025.
He noted that the lack of a legal framework forces patients in need of organ transplants to travel abroad, despite the availability of skilled specialists in the country.
He further argued that the absence of an organ harvesting law also affects eye surgeries, as the hospital cannot obtain corneas locally.
“With our own population, if they need a kidney transplant, they have to travel to India, America, or the UK. We have the men here to do the work, if only the legislative approval is given,” he said.
“We, as eye surgeons, perform cornea transplants, yet we cannot get corneas here. We have to import them from America, where the lowest price is around $3,000 to $4,000. If we have the legislation, we can harvest corneas here, and someone who needs such a transplant will not spend more than GHC500,” Dr. Adam noted.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
