Noida / Delhi: If you think your ageing mama or granny has ‘one foot in the grave’, so her organs would not be worth the salt for donation, perish the thought. Their kidneys may give much younger kidneys a run for their money. This is what the kidney of 80-year donor mother to her ailing son revealed in Super Speciality Jaypee hospital.
52-year-old son Joseph from Cameroon (Gulf of Guinea, Central Africa),chose his 80-year-old mother Mrs Madeline as a drowning man would clutch at straws, little knowing thatshe would prove a mountain of hope for her. Transplant team at Jaypee were stunned to find the power of her kidneys that one would think must be weak and fragile. Her one kidney’s GFR (Glomerular Filtration Rate), which is the measure of the power of a kidney, was 65! while this number for a healthy kidney is only 60. Now, her son has a better than normal kidney to lead a normal life. Her other kidney is as much robust to let her live full life normally.
So next time, if you are despairing for a kidney for transplant turn your thoughts to seniors too for the gift of life. Turned away by all the transplant centres in Delhi NCR, Joseph chanced at Jaypee to give its transplant team an opportunity to create history. Such extreme aged kidney doner probably being the first in the world, the case proved an eye opener. The experts of the hospital said it points to yet untapped potential of seniors for donation of kidneys. Many seniors may be possessing such robust kidneys to donate one from. Experts spoke of a case in their hospital not long ago in which when kidney of mother was not fit for transplant, the patient’s grandma had one to give. Seniors may turn out treasure trove of kidneys to donate. The flawlessly and meticulously done transplant has got its place in India Book of Records.
The team of doctors who successfully conducted the highly complicated kidney transplant surgery were comprised of Dr Amit K. Devra, Dr Vijay K. Sinha, Dr L P Chowdhury, Dr Ravi Singh, Dr Anuj Arora, Dr Khushboo Singh and other paramedical staff. With a robust organ transplant programme, Jaypee Hospital has successfully completed more than 650 kidney transplants.
Dr. Amit K. Devra, Director, Coordinator Kidney Transplant Programme, Department of Urology & Kidney Transplant, Jaypee Hospital said, ‘Joseph was suffering from a prolonged kidney disease resulting in kidney failure and was in need of immediate transplantation. His mother who is in her 80s instantaneously agreed to donate her kidney. Her old age was of a major concern for us as mostly the health of the kidney starts deteriorating after the age of 65. After proper evaluation, it was found that she had good kidney functions and was found medically fit to donate her kidney. However, she had a complex kidney anatomy with two renal arteries and two ureters for which we had to connect two tubes instead of one for the proper renal functioning. Generally, normal people have one renal artery and ureters. A small stone was also diagnosed in her kidney. This made the process even more complicated, but without any hesitation we took up the challenge in order to save our patient’s life.’
Dr. Devra further said, ‘Donor’s kidney harvesting was done laparoscopically to reduce the post-operative pain. After kidney removal, the stone was removed (ex vivo) while the kidney was in an ice bucket for perfusion. Both renal arteries were then connected separately with the recipient’s blood vessels.’
‘There has been a recent spike in cases of chronic kidney disease owing to a related increase in the number of people suffering from co-morbidity like diabetes and high blood pressure, which in the longer run leads to kidney related ailments. It is crucial for people to understand the significance of undergoing kidney transplants at the required juncture and not delaying it. Kidney transplantation generally improves long-term survival in patients with end-stage renal disease. Joseph’s body is responding well to the present kidney and his mother Mrs Madeline is also recovering well. It takes an incredible amount of strength, endurance and faith to donate a kidney at this age. She did not lose hope and her strong will to save her son’s life pushed her to not give up at any point, said Dr Vijay K. Sinha, Associate Director, Department of Nephrology & Kidney Transplant, Jaypee Hospital
This case has also been registered in the India book of records for the aged living female kidney donor. This will open the gates for accepting old age donors in the world and will also give hope to thousands of patients waiting for a kidney transplant.
