Chief Executive of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Yakubu Seidu Adam, has urged Parliament to move quickly on passing legislation to regulate organ harvesting in Ghana.
He believes such a framework will drastically reduce the financial burden on patients while allowing local specialists to perform life-saving 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.
He explained that the lack of a legal framework forces patients abroad, even though Ghana already has qualified specialists in the field.
Drawing from his own experience as an eye surgeon, Dr. Adam pointed to the high costs patients incur due to Ghana’s dependence on imports.
“As eye surgeons, we perform cornea transplants, but we cannot get corneas locally. We have to import them from America, where the lowest price is between $3,000 and $4,000.
“If we had the legislation, we could harvest corneas here, and a patient would not spend more than GH₵500,” he stressed.
Dr. Adam made these remarks when members of Parliament’s Health Committee visited the hospital on Wednesday, September 3, 2025.
He emphasized that the passage of the organ harvesting bill would be a game-changer for healthcare delivery in Ghana, making transplants more accessible and affordable for ordinary citizens.
