Korle Bu CEO urges parliament to fast-track organ harvesting law
By Solomon Nartey Tetteh
The Chief Executive (CEO) of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr Yakubu Seidu Adam, has appealed to Parliament to fast-track legislation on organ harvesting, stressing that such a move would drastically reduce the cost of life-saving transplants for patients in Ghana.
Dr Seidu Adam made the call on Wednesday, 3 September 2025, when members of Parliament’s Health Committee paid a working visit to the hospital.
He noted that the absence of a legal framework forces patients in need of organ transplants to travel abroad for treatment, despite Ghana having qualified specialists capable of performing the procedures.
“With our own population, if they need a kidney transplant, they have to travel to India, America or the UK. We have the expertise here to do the work, if only the legislative approval is given,” Dr Adam said.
The Korle Bu CEO further explained that the gap in legislation also affects eye surgeries, particularly cornea transplants. “As eye surgeons, we perform cornea transplants, but we cannot source corneas locally. We are forced to import them from America, where the lowest price is between USD3,000 and USD4,000. If we had the legislation, we could harvest corneas here, and a patient would not spend more than GHS500,” Dr Adam stated.
