Mumbai: Woman donates kidney to save 47-year-old sister's life

Representation pic

Two sisters, one of whom donated a kidney to save the other's life, celebrated Raksha Bandhan by tying Rakhi to each other. Doctors at Nanavati Max Super Speciality Hospital, where the sisters underwent the surgery, on the occasion appealed to citizens to come forward to register for organ donation to save the lives of organ-failure patients.

Divya S, a 47-year-old Lokhandwala resident, came to know that she was suffering from acute kidney failure by chance in July. Her sister Kusum, 51, said, "We go for walks every morning and Divya generally runs a little ahead. But that day she lagged behind and was sweating profusely." The family was alarmed and Divya underwent a detailed physical evaluation, which revealed that she had chronic kidney failure, a disease in which the kidneys gradually lose their function and fail to remove toxic waste and fluids from the blood. As the contaminated blood reaches all the vital organs, it leads to multiorgan complications.

"Unfortunately, most patients experience little to no symptoms and cases are diagnosed incidentally, often at advanced stages," said Dr Jatin Kothari, director, nephrology and chief consultant renal transplant medicine, Nanavati Max Super Speciality Hospital.

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Divya was then advised to undergo dialysis thrice a week. "She was not doing well on dialysis, so we inquired with doctors who suggested kidney transplant as a long-term and permanent solution. Without hesitating for a moment, I said I will donate the kidney," said Kusum. After overcoming minor documentational hurdles and a DNA test that established their blood relation, the duo underwent transplant on July 25. While Kusum was discharged after four days, Divya walked out healthy after 10 days.

"Raksha Bandhan may be an occasion to seek protection from brothers, but it is my sister who selflessly donated her own organ and saved my life. From this year on, I am going to tie rakhi to her, for protecting me, putting her own life on the line," said Divya.

Talking about the transplant, Dr Kothari said that organ donation between sisters or blood relatives is safe and offers better outcomes. "Despite this, of all the chronic kidney failure patients, less than 2 per cent undergo transplants. If we aim to reduce the burden, we need to raise awareness about the advantages of kidney transplants. Most importantly, we also need to promote diseased organ donation so even in death, one can give a new lease of life to many," said Dr Kothari.

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Day in July when the kidney transplant operation was performed at Nanavati hospital