Strings attached: Woman gifts kidney to brother on Rakhi

Strings attached: Woman gifts kidney to brother on Rakhi

51-Year-Old Gynaecologist Gives IRS Brother Gift Of Life

Vijaysinh.Parmar@timesgroup.com

Surat:21.08.2021

There is no better gift in life than the gift of life — something that these siblings will cherish forever more as they share a bond that goes deeper than blood or their umbilical ties — their kidneys.

Just ahead of Raksha Bandhan, this sister added more meaning to the festival that is celebrated with pomp to strengthen sibling bonds. Dr Sujata Dev saluted her bond by gifting her brother Sandeep Kumar, an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, a kidney and a new lease of life too.

“I can’t thank her enough. Usually brothers give gifts to sisters on Raksha Bandhan. But Sujata gave me a gift of life with her kidney,” in a quivering voice, emotionally choked Kumar, a 1989 batch IRS officer, told TOI over phone from the hospital.

Kumar is presently posted as principal income tax commissioner at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Dr Dev is a gynaecologist and a professor at the Medical College in Lucknow.

“For me, my elder brother is everything. Being a medical professional, I was aware of the kidney donation and what cares one should take after donating your one kidney. I am happy that I am able to give new life to my brother,” 51-year-old Dr Sujata Dev told TOI, before she left for Lucknow on Friday evening.

Kumar underwent a kidney transplant at the Institute of Kidney Disease and Research Centre (IKDRC) in Ahmedabad on August 14. Kumar is recovering well and his creatinine levels are well within the prescribed limit, doctors informed. He is likely to be discharged soon.

Dr Sujata Dev gifted her brother Sandeep Kumar, an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, a kidney and a new lease of life too

I-T commissioner was on dialysis since February

This is the second time that Kumar underwent a kidney transplant. In 2012, after both his kidneys had failed, Kumar had undergone a kidney transplant at the IKDRC in 2013. At that time, the donation was from a brain-dead patient from Surat. During the same time, from 2013-15, Kumar served as income tax commissioner in Surat. After getting a kidney transplant, Kumar became actively involved in creating awareness about cadaver donation in Gujarat. At present, he is the vice-president of Donate Life, a Surat-based NGO working for organ donation awareness.

“After he received organ donation in 2013, he decided to do something for creating awareness about organ and cadaver donations and insisted on creating an NGO for the cause and that’s how we started Donate Life in 2015,” Nilesh Mandlewala, founding president of Donate Life, said.

After undergoing the kidney transplant in 2013, Kumar was leading a normal life till last year when he started suffering renal problems.

“I have been on dialysis since February this year. We tried for cadaver donation twice but couldn’t find the right match. The only option left was that of kidney donation from a family member. My sister readily agreed to donate her kidney and it matched,” Kumar said.