MrBeast Pays for Medical Surgeries for 1,000 Kenyans

American YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast, has funded life-changing surgeries for 1,000 patients in Kenya, providing treatment for conditions that had gone untreated due to cost and limited access to healthcare.

The initiative, revealed in a video released this week, involved patients from Narok, Kisumu, Homa Bay and Nairobi. Many were suffering from conditions such as hernias and thyroid disorders, which are medically treatable but often remain unresolved in rural and low-income communities because of financial constraints and gaps in medical infrastructure.

Some beneficiaries travelled long distances from remote areas to receive care, with MrBeast’s team arranging transport, including ambulances, for those unable to reach hospitals on their own. Donaldson said some patients were collected from hundreds of miles away.

For many patients, the surgeries ended years of pain and disability. One individual said he had been unable to afford treatment for three years, while another, a driver in Nairobi, explained that impaired vision had prevented him from working until surgery restored his ability to drive. Their experiences show how untreated health conditions can directly affect livelihoods and economic stability.

Healthcare workers featured in the video said long-standing problems such as underfunded hospitals and shortages of equipment have limited access to essential care. In addition to paying for surgeries, the project supplied hospitals with medicines and medical equipment. 

One staff member said the supplies were among the most significant support their facility had received that year, while another noted that many patients might not have sought treatment without the outreach linked to the project. The programme builds on MrBeast’s earlier initiatives in Kenya. 

In 2024, he funded the construction of 52 boreholes to provide clean water to schools and supported other projects including classroom improvements, bridge construction and the distribution of bicycles to schoolchildren in Meru and Narok.