Ministry of Health has now made it possible for Kenyan men to legally get penis transplant at health facilities in the country.
The Health Ministry has submitted laws to regulate the donation and transplantation of the male reproductive organ.
The ministry detailed how Kenyan men can get a penis transplant in its submission to the Kenya National Blood Transfusion Services Bill 2020 made last month.
Parliamentary Health Committee initially opposed Health Ministry’s proposals on penis transplant, but the ministry is adamant that the transplant law is a requirement of the Health Act 2017.
The push for penis transplant is influenced by the growing threat to manhood due to increasing cancers, botched circumcisions, violence, and road accidents.
Patients with penile cancer usually undergo penectomy – the surgical removal of all or part of the penis. However Ministry of Health notes that most patients usually decline to have their penis removed or undergo radiotherapy.
The ministry hopes patients with penile cancer will benefit from penis transplantation, in that they will be willing to undergo penectomy knowing that they can get new penises through the transplantation.
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The first successful penis transplant was performed in South Africa in 2014, involving a 21-year-old recipient who lost his penis due to a botched circumcision.
After this procedure in South Africa, other transplants have been performed; one in the US in 2016 and another in South Africa in 2017.
In 2018, a US war veteran underwent penis transplant at the world’s famous Johns Hopkins Hospital and was reported to have regained almost 100% penile functionality.
