Geetha’s Story
This is the story of my family and what we went thru prior to making a decision for live liver donation to save my husband. We are a small family of three. Our son was only 22 at the time of our surgery.
My husband developed an edema in both his legs and right after we had a national convention of which he was president. He was screened for cardiac as well as renal issues. Since both turned out to be negative, our friend who is a cardiologist herself referred us to a colleague of hers who is a gastroenterologist. After running a series of tests he informed us that the only solution to this problem is a new liver.
We both had full time careers at that point and we were referred to Mount Sinai hospital and also in NYU later on in NYC. Venkat was on the UNOS list until 2011 March over in NYC. His condition was deteriorating every day. During the period from 2007 to 2011, he was admitted multiple times in the hospital for pleural tap, low blood and platelet counts, and GI bleeding. The surgery was getting delayed due to low MELD scores. As a interim remedy the doctor suggested TIPS which was done in January 2011.
I consulted hospitals and doctors in India who were doing liver transplants successfully. We made the decision to travel to India to get this done. I was confirmed to be a potential liver donor from the tests done and there was no wait there. We travelled to India in March 2011 and the surgery was performed on April 14th. I was informed of all the consequences of the surgery for the donor and the recipient prior to the surgery. In my mind that was the last straw and decided to go with the surgery because the advantages outweighed the consequences.
After the surgery, I was allowed to go home within a week. Venkat stayed almost two weeks in the hospital. His recovery was miraculous. Now a year and a half after surgery he is leading a normal life now. I am so grateful to GOD who gave me this opportunity to bring back save my sweetheart of 26 years who was on the verge of death.
I hope this helps…good luck!
Venkat and Geetha Sarma