Dialysis in Ghana costs about GH¢491 to GH¢1,000 a session (about US$42 to US$85), and most people need three sessions a week. The NHIS now pays for some of those sessions. A kidney transplant in Ghana is estimated at US$21,000 to US$35,000. In India, the hospital treatment for an international patient costs from about US$13,000. Here is what each option costs, what the NHIS covers, and what the law in India asks of you and your donor.
Dialysis cost in Ghana in 2026
Haemodialysis cleans the blood when the kidneys can no longer do it. It is usually needed three times a week, for about four hours each time, for life unless you have a transplant.
| Where | Cost per session | Cost for a year (3 sessions a week) |
|---|---|---|
| Public hospital | About GH¢491 to GH¢499 (about US$42) | About GH¢77,000 (about US$6,500) |
| Private dialysis centre | About GH¢750 to GH¢1,000 (about US$64 to US$85) | About GH¢117,000 to GH¢156,000 (about US$9,900 to US$13,200) |
Public hospital: the rate the NHIS paid per session in 2024 and 2025. Private centre: prices reported in April and October 2025. Prices vary by hospital and city. Tests, medicines, transport and access surgery for dialysis are extra. US dollar figures use the Bank of Ghana rate of 12 October 2026.
What does the NHIS cover for dialysis?
- Since June 2024, the NHIS has paid for dialysis sessions for its members at accredited hospitals.
- Under 18 and over 60: up to 8 sessions a month.
- Aged 18 to 59: 2 sessions a month. Most adults on dialysis need about 13, so they pay for the rest themselves.
- Since October 2025, the government has said the NHIS will also pay GH¢500 a session at private dialysis centres, about half the usual price there.
- Places are limited. In September 2026, patients still reported long queues and broken machines at some public units.
The rules are changing as the Ghana Medical Trust Fund (Mahama Cares) takes over more kidney care, so check your current cover with your NHIS office or your renal unit.
Kidney transplant costs
Kidney transplant cost in Ghana and India up to 63% less in India
How much you could save on the hospital cost of a kidney transplant in India, compared with prices reported in Ghana.
| Ghana price reported | Price in Ghana | India price (from) | You save* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accra, 2023 estimate | US$21,000 | US$13,000 (approx.) | 38% US$8,000 |
| Kumasi, first transplant, 2025 | US$25,000 | US$13,000 (approx.) | 48% US$12,000 |
| Kumasi, expected price from 2025 | US$30,000 to US$35,000 | US$13,000 (approx.) | 57% to 63% US$17,000 to US$22,000 |
*Savings compare hospital costs only, to give you a general idea. Ghana: estimates reported for Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra (July 2023), and a kidney centre in Kumasi (January 2025). India: indicative starting price for international patients, October 2026. Flights, visas and about 6 to 8 weeks’ stay in India for you and your donor are extra, and we help you plan them. The hospital sets your final price after reviewing your medical records.
Ghana’s own transplant programmes are growing but still small. Korle Bu Teaching Hospital carried out its first kidney transplants by a Ghanaian team in July 2023 and planned about three a month. The Ashanti Region’s first kidney transplant, at a kidney centre in Kumasi, was reported in January 2025.
A year of dialysis at a private centre in Ghana costs about as much as the starting hospital price of a transplant in India. A transplant is not right for everyone, though. Whether it suits you is a medical decision for your kidney specialist and the transplant team. After a transplant you take anti-rejection medicines for life, which cost about GH¢5,000 to GH¢6,000 a month in Ghana (2025).
Indian law for patients from Ghana: read this first
- Your donor will usually need to be a close relative: a husband or wife, son, daughter, father, mother, brother, sister, grandparent or grandchild.
- The Ghana High Commission in New Delhi must certify the relationship on an official form (Form 21). Bring original birth or marriage certificates.
- A DNA test may be needed if the papers are not enough.
- A hospital committee must approve the case before surgery. You and your donor are interviewed in person.
- Buying or selling organs is a serious crime in India, with prison sentences of 5 to 10 years.
MedPanda never arranges, finds or pays donors, and we will not work on any case where we believe an organ is being bought or sold.
How much is a kidney in Ghana? Is a donor paid?
A kidney donor should not be paid, and a kidney has no legal price. International guidance from the World Health Organization says organs must be given freely, never sold. If you have a transplant in India, Indian law applies: buying or selling an organ there carries a prison sentence of 5 to 10 years, and a hospital committee interviews you and your donor to check that no money has changed hands.
What families actually pay for is the transplant: the operations for the patient and the donor, the hospital stay, tests, medicines and travel. If anyone offers to sell you a kidney or find you a paid donor, do not take part. It is against the law in India, and it puts the donor in danger.
What does a kidney donation cost the donor?
Your donor should not pay for their own operation. In India, your donor’s tests, surgery and hospital stay are part of the transplant plan and the written quote you receive. Your family usually covers your donor’s flights, visa and accommodation, and we include these in your plan.
What your donor goes through
Before surgery, your donor has a full health check, including blood and urine tests and scans, so the transplant team can be sure that donating is safe for them. The operation usually takes 2 to 3 hours, and most donors stay in hospital for 3 to 4 days. NHS Blood and Transplant says donors should not need any long-term medicines after donating, though a yearly check of blood pressure and kidney function is usually advised.
How it works with MedPanda
- Free consultation. Tell us about your kidney condition, your dialysis and your possible donor.
- Records reviewed by transplant teams at partner hospitals, before you travel.
- Written quote and plan, including your donor’s care and any dialysis you need in India before surgery.
- Papers, visas and a place to stay for you and your donor, including the e-Medical visa, the High Commission certificate and airport pick-up.
- Treatment in India. Tests, committee approval, then surgery. Most patients stay in hospital for 4 to 10 days, and donors for 3 to 4 days.
- Lifetime Health Passport. All your scans, reports and discharge papers are kept together in one place, ready for your doctor at home.
- Check-ups nearby, then home. You stay close to the hospital for several weeks, then your records go to your kidney doctor in Ghana, and we stay in touch.
Before you travel, check with your renal unit in Ghana that they can take over your care, and that your anti-rejection medicines will be available. Everyone travelling from Ghana needs an original yellow fever certificate for India. Our guide to the India medical visa covers the papers step by step, and our article on kidney transplant costs in Nigeria covers the same donor rules for Nigerian families.
Partner hospitals that offer kidney transplants
These partner hospitals list kidney transplant on their own websites:
- Aster Medcity, Kochi
- Aster MIMS, Kozhikode
- Baby Memorial Hospital, Kozhikode
- Meitra Hospital, Kozhikode
- Medical Trust Hospital, Kochi
- Apollo Hospitals, Chennai
- Gleneagles Hospitals, Mumbai
- Artemis Hospitals, Gurugram
- STAR Hospitals, Hyderabad
For kidney stones, prostate and bladder problems, see our page on urology treatment in India. For the transplant itself, see our kidney transplant in India page.
Frequently asked questions
How much is dialysis in Ghana?
About GH¢491 to GH¢499 a session at public hospitals and about GH¢750 to GH¢1,000 at private centres (2024 and 2025 figures). At three sessions a week, that is about GH¢77,000 to GH¢156,000 a year before any NHIS help.
Is dialysis free on the NHIS in Ghana?
Partly. Since June 2024, the NHIS has paid for up to 8 sessions a month for patients under 18 and over 60, and 2 sessions a month for patients aged 18 to 59, at accredited hospitals. Most adults pay for the rest. Check your current cover with your NHIS office.
How much is a kidney transplant in Ghana?
Hospital estimates reported in 2023 and 2025 range from about US$21,000 to US$35,000. Anti-rejection medicines afterwards cost about GH¢5,000 to GH¢6,000 a month.
How much is a kidney donor paid in Ghana?
A kidney donor should not be paid. Organs must be given freely, and if you have a transplant in India, buying or selling an organ there is a serious crime. Your donor’s tests and surgery are part of the transplant cost, and your family usually covers their travel and stay.
Where are kidney transplants done in Ghana?
Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra has carried out kidney transplants with a Ghanaian team since July 2023, and the Ashanti Region’s first transplant, in Kumasi, was reported in January 2025. Numbers are still small.
How much does a kidney transplant cost in India?
For international patients, the indicative hospital price starts from about US$13,000 (October 2026). The hospital confirms the final price after reviewing your medical records.
Can a Ghanaian get a kidney transplant in India?
Yes, but the rules are strict. Your donor will usually need to be a close relative, the Ghana High Commission in New Delhi must certify the relationship, and a hospital committee must approve the case before surgery.
How long does a transplanted kidney last?
The NHS says about 9 in 10 transplanted kidneys still work after 5 years, and many work for 10 years or more. Results depend on age, health and the cause of kidney failure, so this is not a prediction for you.
Talk to us about dialysis or a kidney transplant
Tell us about your situation and your possible donor, and we’ll explain your options, the costs and the paperwork. Free, with no pressure.
Checked by Dr Sreeraj K.V (MBBS, DNB), Reg. No. 93547, on 21 October 2026.
MedPanda is a care-coordination service. We don’t diagnose or give medical advice. Your treating doctor decides what treatment, if any, is right for you.
Sources
- Graphic Online: NHIS offers free dialysis for patients (3 June 2024); News Ghana: Dialysis services to be permanently included in the NHIS (24 October 2024)
- Citi Newsroom: Dialysis cost now covered under NHIS (30 May 2025); News Ghana: Mahama orders NHIS to cover dialysis costs at private hospitals (13 October 2025)
- Graphic Online: Mahama Cares best solution to Ghana’s dialysis crisis (24 April 2025); The Voice: Kidney patients renew call for government action as dialysis crisis deepens (1 September 2026)
- Tannor EK et al. Fifty years of haemodialysis in Ghana: current status, utilisation and cost of dialysis services. BMC Health Services Research (2023)
- GhanaWeb: Korle Bu Teaching Hospital performs first Ghanaian team kidney transplants (13 July 2023); Modern Ghana: Doctors perform first-ever kidney transplant in the Ashanti Region (29 January 2025); Modern Ghana: What are the typical costs of organ transplants in Ghana? (12 November 2025)
- NHS: Dialysis; NHS Blood and Transplant: Receiving a kidney; Benefits and risks
- Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act 1994 (as amended 2011) and Rules 2014, Government of India
- World Health Organization: Guiding Principles on Human Cell, Tissue and Organ Transplantation (2010)
- NHS Blood and Transplant: Donating your kidney, surgery and recovery
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India: yellow fever advisory; High Commission of India, Accra; Government of India e-Visa
