It started with a fever 12 years ago.
When R. Krishnamurthy Srowthi, then 40, went to his doctor in Ambattur, he was told his kidneys were enlarged and sent straight to a nephrologist.
Five years of medication later, his left kidney had to be removed. When, after six months of dialysis, it became clear he would need a transplant, Mr. Srowthi was lucky. His brother was a match and through him, Mr. Srowthi got a second chance at life.
“My brother never hesitated. We are brothers, but we are close friends too,” said the Samaveda scholar.
In just a month after the procedure, Mr. Srowthi was back at work. Mr. Srowthi’s brother, R. Venkatraman, now 55, is also doing well, he said.
The rising number of people in the country experiencing renal failure due to diabetes and hypertension is a huge concern for doctors.
With World Kidney Day coming up, they stressed the need for prevention, as well as more awareness of organ donation, at TANKER Foundation’s third Lakshmi Venkataraman Endowment Oration, held on Tuesday.
It was organ donation or ‘the gift of life’ that was the focus of the oration by Fr. Paul Vattakuzhy, managing trustee, Paulo Foundation Trust. Fr. Vattakuzhy, who was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease at the age of 29, underwent a transplant in 1986. He too was given a kidney by his brother, a farmer.
“Giving an organ is giving the gift of life to a diseased person. My brother is now 71 years old and has never been hospitalised for any disease. He still works as a farmer. It was an invaluable contribution on his part,” he said.
Olympian Shiny Wilson, K. Jacob, honorary secretary, Madras Medical Mission, Georgi Abraham, founder trustee of TANKER Foundation, and K. Ganapathy, who instituted the oration in his sister’s memory, also participated in the event.
