The government has stopped a university student travelling to India for a kidney transplant.
The ministry of health said such services are available in Kenya and there is no need of David Kinyua travelling outside the country.
Kinyua – an Information Technology student at Mt Kenya University - was diagnosed with stage five kidney failure last year and has been surviving on three dialysis sessions every week
The 24-year-old is dangerously underweight. He was 65 kilogrammes in August 2017 but he currently weighs 30 kilos.
"He underwent three surgeries last year, I think this led to his kidneys failing," said John Kandia, his guardian.
Kinyua comes from Kangari village of Runyenjes constituency in Embu county.
The Standards and Quality Assurance department at the ministry of Health says patients seeking treatment outside the country require approval from the government.
They fill out a form with their details and give valid reasons for seeking treatment out of the country.
"If the patient states they are going to undergo, for instance, a caesarian section in India, we decline because we have so many hospitals in the country offering that type of service," said an official at the ministry.
Currently, Kenyatta National Hospital, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and the Embu Teaching and Referral Hospital are the only public hospitals that conduct kidney transplants in Kenya.
Kinyua's family says they intended to take him to India following the advice of their doctor.
The family has now settled for the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi, which will cost them Sh3 million.
Kandia said they have found a Kidney donor and they have planned a fundraiser on August 12 to raise the funds.
"We are appealing to well wishers, people of good will to support us raise more than Sh3 million for him to undergo the transplant," said Kandia.
The family said already dialysis sessions have drained them financially because NHIF only pays for two sessions a week, yet Kinyua needs three every week, at a cost of Sh9,500 each.
"We pay Sh38,000 for the remaining for sessions every month and this really expensive for us," said Kandia.
The family noted that Kinyua has been suffering from other opportunistic ailments which cost more than Sh35,000 treating.
Kinyua is currently admitted at Meridian hospital in Nairobi.
Approximately 10,000 Kenyans travel abroad every year in search of treatment, according to the ministry of Health.
A 2015 survey by the ministry found that 40 per cent of Kenyans who travelled overseas for treatment had renal (kidney) diseases.
The rest suffered other diseases, which included cancer, spinal disease, tissue disorders and peripheral vascular disorders among others.
The patients said they chose to go abroad because of lack of enough specialists and specialised medical equipment, long waiting periods, especially for cancer treatment and kidney transplants, and the high cost of treatment in Kenya.
-Martin Fundi