KEY POINTS
-
A South African hospital denied a liver transplant to a Zimbabwean teen due to immigration issues.
-
The legal team is challenging the discrimination in the healthcare system.
-
The family faces financial obstacles as private transplant costs are unaffordable.
A South African hospital faces legal action for denying a liver transplant to 15-year-old Vanessa Mafu. Diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis, Vanessa’s liver condition has worsened to cirrhosis, and she urgently needs a transplant.
However, doctors at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital reportedly refused her transplant due to her Zimbabwean parents’ lack of formal immigration papers. Hospital officials claimed Vanessa did not qualify for a transplant from a deceased South African donor.
Legal action to challenge the decision
According to NewZimbabwe, Vanessa’s mother, Vuyelwa Ncube, is taking legal action to save her daughter’s life. She has filed an urgent application in the Johannesburg High Court against the hospital, health ministers, and other involved parties.
Ncube’s affidavit claims the doctor told her that Vanessa cannot undergo a liver transplant until she provides valid immigration documents. Ncube argued that her daughter’s condition is too urgent to wait for the usual court procedures.
Discrimination and xenophobia in the healthcare system
Vanessa was diagnosed in December 2024 and has been frequently hospitalised due to her deteriorating health. Ncube was informed that the only available transplant options are from a deceased donor or a living relative. Despite this, she has not been given a valid reason for excluding her daughter from receiving a deceased donor’s liver.
Advocate Simba Chitando, the family’s lawyer, called the situation cruel and xenophobic. He stated that the case highlights systemic discrimination in South Africa’s healthcare system, going beyond just one child’s life.
