More than three decades ago when Mohammed Ibrahim was brought to Osmania General Hospital, unconscious in a state of coma, Dr. Gopal Kishan and his team were not certain that the 33-year-old would make it. For Mr. Ibrahim had suffered renal failure, a condition that was synonymous with mortality during a time in India’s medical history when dialysis and renal transplants were novel in hospitals.
After being put on dialysis, Mr. Ibrahim recovered enough for a transplant.
Perfect match
In the decades preceding Jeevandan, such transplant surgeries were often always successful with contributions from a blood relative. Ibrahim’s brother Mohammed Ishaq proved a perfect match. On May 16, 1982, he became the city’s first recipient and among the first few in the country, of a kidney.
Cut to 2016, Mr. Ibrahim, 67, now father of three, lives life like any other. “I have to ensure I take adequate water and my life-saving drugs which cost less than Rs. 1,000 a month. Being an ordinary citizen, I was treated like a VIP in the hospital. I am thankful to the State and my brother,” Mr. Ibrahim said. The tale behind Mr. Ibrahim’s surgery is just as amazing as that of his survival. Dr. Gopal Kishan, the nephrologist, who performed the transplant, said former Chief Minister T. Anjaiah had readily agreed to spare money from the CM’s Relief Fund for the surgery.
“Patients were being sent to Mumbai (then Bombay), CMC Vellore or Chandigarh for transplant. CM T. Anjaiah was told by us that we can do transplants here. He then spared a princely sum for the purpose,” Dr. Kishan, Emeritus Professor of Nephrology at Osmania Medical College, said.
Mr. Ibrahim continues to consult Dr. Kishan, which is also a record of sorts in doctor-patient relationship.
An event is being organised on Monday to recognise his survival and to highlight pioneering successes of governmental health institutions like OGH.
