"While Waiting For An External Donor, We Got Tested & I Was A Perfect Match For The Transplant"

My mom (age 58) got detected with Liver Cirrhosis a few months back. In January this year, we realised the gravity of the situation, a transplant was inevitable.

A little about the disease first – Liver Cirrhosis is an irreparable liver damage. Depending on the intensity, the consequences can either be delayed with care and prevention or liver be replaced completely. One HAS to know what needs to be done immediately. With a damaged liver, the body puts a lot of stress on other organs such as kidney, lungs etc that can, unfortunately, fail if not taken care of. Secondly, the body retains water and infections that can be harmful again. For cases that are more difficult, the heavy medication leads to mental trauma/instability as a consequence and the patient goes through depression and mood swings.

We only had a few months in hand for any scope of health improvement. We started our search for doctors, surgeons, hospitals, recipients with experience and obviously, last but indispensable – a donor. With a little time, we had, waiting for an external donor was not really a choice. Hence, all 3 of us ( my sister, brother and I) who share the same blood group went ahead with the donor test as three of us were willing to be the donor for mom.

February, we figured that I was the healthiest liver donor. Donating a healthy liver is obviously good for the recipient and also, helps the donor recover faster.

For the family, it was a big question now whether to ‘risk the life’ of a daughter. And at the same time, ensure ma gets her treatment in time. This part of my experience is really what I want to share. We met donors ( brothers, son’s, daughters and wives) who have donated to family members, we met doctors who assured that there is negligible risk or side effect of the process to the donor. One obviously has to go through the pain of few weeks owing to 10-12 inch stitch on the stomach. And up to 60 per cent liver that’s taken out but regrows in 15 days to 3 months.

We are glad and feel lucky we had a chance and could leverage it as a family. And applause for Dr Subhash Gupta and his team at Max hospital.in liver transplant team to make sure it was a seamless process.

There is an increasing demand for liver donors around the world. In this very short span, I have witnessed people losing lives as they failed to find a donor on a timely basis and that completely shattered them. While the number of live donors has increased in the past, it’s important that we all know how less risky it is to undergo the procedure, to meet the demand. And how it can help save a life, especially the life of someone you love. To know they are going to have a long and healthy life ahead, and somewhere you could make a difference, is a great feeling.

Submitted By – Deepanshi Chaudhary

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