Husband gifts life to ailing wife, donates his kidney and breaks gender bias

48 years old Ms. Narmati Sara Dhenga met with a road accident and suffered a foot fracture, couple of years back. She took painkillers as part of her prescribed medication but developed a sudden allergic reaction which led to itchy rashes and swelling all over her body. She was immediately rushed to a hospital where she underwent several investigative tests. One of the test results showed her kidney functioning was way below the normal level. The concerned treating doctors advised her to start dialysis procedure immediately.

For past 2 years she was undergoing haemodialysis 3 times a week, and was visiting the hospital almost every alternate day. She also had other medical complications due to which she was not doing well on dialysis; her condition continued to deteriorate. She was in immediate need of Kidney Transplant, but this was possible only if a matching donor could be found. Time was running out for her, and the couple was unable to find a suitable donor.

Ms. Narmati Sara’s husband Mr. Ram Kumar Thapa wanted to save her at all costs and was the first in the family to volunteer and offer his kidney. The couple decided to undergo the transplant procedure at Sanar International Hospitals, Gurugram. After proper assessment and tests, her husband was found suitable as a donor and the transplant team at Sanar International Hospitals, Gurugram admitted both husband and wife for the procedure. The transplant was performed successfully, and now both donor (husband) and recipient (wife) are doing well.

Dr. Amit Kumar, HOD & Senior Consultant, Nephrology, Sanar International Hospitals, Gurugram said, “A large majority of live kidney donors in our country are predominantly women and over the years we have seen women outnumbering men when it comes to donating their kidneys. In such a scenario, it is really heartening to see Mr. Thapa voluntarily coming forward to donate his kidney for his ailing wife.

“He was quite determined to save his wife’s life and followed all the pre and post-transplant instructions/ restrictions as recommended by us. Nowadays, for chronic kidney disease patient, kidney transplant is one of the best treatment options as compared to a lifetime of dialysis. We are happy that post-transplant, the patient can now live a long and healthy life as normal as possible”, Dr. Amit Kumar added.

Sharing his happiness Mr. Thapa said, “We had complete faith in the medical and surgical team of Sanar International Hospitals, Gurugram. My wife was sick for a long time and now she is on her complete road to recovery. A big thank you to all the doctors and staff at the hospital for giving her a new lease of life.”