It started with a call early in June. Vidyaprasanna Gopinath, a canine trainer and consultant in Chennai, was told that the liver of his friend’s wife had failed and that none of her family members was eligible to donate theirs.
“There was not a single doubt in my mind. I knew that this was a matter of someone's life, and that if I could do something to help, I should do it," said the 34-year-old.
Organ donation seems to run in Mr. Gopinath’s blood. His mother had donated one of her kidneys to her sister. On July 21, a portion of his liver was removed and transplanted on to his friend’s wife at Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket in Delhi.
Dr. Subhash Gupta, chairman - Liver and Biliary Sciences, Max Super Speciality Hospital, said though this was not the first case, it was definitely rare for a donor to not be a member of the family or a relative.
Proof of friendship
“Due to the stringent requirements of the Transplant Act, it is very difficult for donors and receivers to establish their relationship or association in legal terms. As these friends were tenants in the same house many years back in the U.K. and their records were well maintained, the authorities considered their strong bond of friendship and allowed donation,” explained Dr. Gupta.
Mr. Gopinath and his friend did their postgraduate studies together in the U.K. Babysitting his friend’s daughter during studies strengthened their bond. Over the years, the families stayed in touch on the phone and social media after they returned to India.
A social media post was enough
Both Mr. Gopinath and his wife had volunteered to donate their liver after seeing their friend’s post on social media. “My wife was not found medically fit and she was ruled out. I then underwent tests at a private hospital in Chennai and was found fit. It was not a hard decision to take and I then decided to go ahead,” he said.
Doctors in Delhi, where the surgery was performed, wanted to speak to him, he said, to make sure he knew what he was doing. “But I was completely sure,” he said.
The 44-year-old patient/recipient (identity undisclosed) had been diagnosed with chronic auto-immune hepatitis. In such cases, the body’s immune system attacks liver cells causing the liver to be inflamed. The patient had developed arthritis. This was a high risk case with many other complications.
“The surgery started on July 21 morning and we finished that evening,” said Dr. Gupta.
Eight days after the transplant, Mr. Gopinath was discharged with all his vitals normal. “One of the main fears most people have is what will happen to the donor after the transplant. I want to tell people that life goes back to normal within a short time. The portion of my liver that was removed gets regenerated. There are some initial restrictions about diet and exercise, but within three months, you can go back to your regular life,” he said.
In Delhi two teams of doctors worked on this case.
