Woman gifts liver, then kidney to her ailing son

Woman gifts liver, then kidney to her ailing son

Sunitha.Rao@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:12.12.2021

In what doctors term a rare case, a 40-yearold woman has donated vital organs twice to her ailing son in Bengaluru in the past 13 years.

The first transplant was in 2008 when her son, then seven years old, was diagnosed with chronic liver disease. His mother Swapna (name changed) was found to be a matching donor and she donated a portion of her liver. She became an organ donor for the second time recently when her son, now 20, had no choice but to undergo a kidney transplant and she donated a kidney.

The kidney transplant was done on September 11, 2021 and the mother-son duo is doing fine, said Dr Ishtiaq Ahmed, senior consultant nephrology and renal transplant physician, Narayana Health. Both transplants were done in the same hospital.

Dr Ishtiaq Ahmed said retrieving more than one organ from a single living donor and transplanting it to a single recipient is rare phenomena.

Dad wanted to donate kidney but wasn’t fit: Doc

Swapna, who runs a tea shop near Basaveshwara Nagar in Bengaluru, told STOI the boy had suffered through his childhood and her decision to donate was only her duty. “My son suddenly started having swelling in the stomach and vomiting blood when he was seven. He was diagnosed with jaundice, but later it was found he had chronic liver disease and liver transplant was the only solution,” she said.

The mother was a matching donor and volunteered to donate a portion of her liver. Doctors retrieved 300gms of her liver and transplanted it in an 18-hour surgery on August 23, 2008.

Even as the family was recouping from it, the boy’s health issues surfaced again. In 2017, there was swelling in his legs as well as weakness and he was rushed to the hospital. A detailed examination revealed he was suffering from End Stage Kidney Disease, a progressive condition. Though initially his condition was managed with medicines, he had to be gradually shifted to dialysis.

“He was required to undergo dialysis thrice a week. It was quite expensive and he was not doing well. Once again, organ transplant was the only option. His father was willing to donate but was medically unfit. This time too, the mother came forward again,” said Dr Ahmed.

The transplant, planned for early 2021 had to be postponed due to the pandemic and was done in September 2021. “Initially, we were a little hesitant, as the case was immunologically high risk given that the mother was already an organ donor. But there was no other option and she was very keen,” said Dr Ahmed.

The kidney transplant cost was over Rs 6 lakh. “We sought help from the Prime Minister’s relief fund and got Rs 3 lakh. The rest was borne by the hospital,” said Swapna. She added she was not on any medication at present and is happy to see her son recovering.

Her son, an undergraduate commerce student in a city college, had missed classes due to to health issues, will resume classes over the next few months.