India: Kidney donors give spouse swap whole new meaning

[Clark]

http://www.mid-day.com/news/2011/jul/270711-Krishnakumar-Tiwari-Antonette-Nazareth-kidney-transplant-mumbai.htm

Kidney donors give spouse swap whole new meaning
By: Priyanka Vora


Suffering from end-stage kidney disorders, a man and a woman were saved by receiving kidneys from each other's partners

UNTIL a few months ago, Krishnakumar Tiwari (49) and Antonette Nazareth (57) did not even know each other, but today they speak over the phone nearly every day, enquiring about each other's health.
 
This transformation was brought about by an almost literal blood compact involving them getting a kidney from each other's spouses.

Krishnakumar and Antonette were united in pain as both were diagnosed with end-stage kidney disorders, for which the best available treatment is a kidney transplant.
 
Their respective spouses were willing to donate kidneys but couldn't as their blood groups didn't match.

"I was on dialysis, an expensive and painful procedure, for four years. I spent Rs 6 lakh on it and it made me miss many working days.

I wanted to get a kidney transplant done as soon as possible and my wife was also ready to donate one of her kidneys to me, but we were shattered when the doctors said that she could not do so because our blood groups are incompatible," said Krishnakumar, who owns a milk shop in Borivli.

Antonette's husband, Jerome, said, "Seeing your partner in such pain is not easy. I was willing to donate my kidney to her the day I heard she needs one, but our blood groups didn't match. Her sisters and other relatives couldn't donate either."

Both the patients and their partners then decided to register themselves with Narmada Kidney Foundation (NKF), a non-governmental organisation, which maintains a registry of incompatible recipients and donors like them.
 
In May, their ordeal came to end when they received a call from the NKF saying that they could go in for a swap transplant.

Krishnakumar's blood group is B, his wife Leela's is A, and in the case of the other couple, Antonette's is A and Jerome's is B. Officials at the NGO told them that the spouses of the patients could donate kidneys to each other's partners.

"I was asked whether I could donate my kidney to Krishnakumar if his wife would donate hers to Antonette. My joy knew no bounds and I said yes immediately. We had been looking for a donor forever and this seemed like a godsend," said Jerome.

Both the couples met each other for the first time on May 15 at Bombay Hospital, where their tissue typing was done, and they exchanged pleasantries and thanked each other.

On June 30, both couples were wheeled into the operation theatre together, each one praying for the well being of the other.
 
In July, both Krishnakumar and Antonette were discharged from Lilavati hospital, where the operation took place.

Since then, the couples have shared a familial bond. "Our relatives met them and their relatives met us. We are a big family now," said Antonette. Leela is even planning to send Jerome a rakhi this year.

Dr Bharat Shah, nephrologist, Lilavati hospital, said, "We have at least 60 people in our registry who have failed to find a suitable donor and a SWAP kidney transplant or a cadaver kidney donation are the only solutions in these cases. The Tiwaris and Nazareths were very lucky to be eligible for a swap transplant.
 
Both the recipients and the donors are doing well after the surgery. The recipients' bodies have accepted the kidneys well."

Need for Awareness
Dr Shah stressed on the need for awareness of swap transplants.

"The swap transplant programme is so active in the West that 34 per cent of all living donor transplants have been swap transplants in one centre in the USA," he said.

Stating that swap transplants are of great help, Dr Pravin Shingare, director, Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), said, "10-15 swap kidney transplants have taken place across the state.
 
We have allowed such transplants since 2008 and the recipients and donors have to submit the relevant documents to the authorisation committee.
 
Elaborate paper work is required as we have seen people who are not related to the recipients donating kidneys in lieu of money, which is a violation of the Human Organ Transplant Act."