Srinagar, Jul 9: When doctors told this Kashmiri family that their 52-year-old mother would need a liver transplant, both her sons stepped forward without hesitation. Each was willing to donate a part of his liver to save her life, without fear, without inhibitions.
The family’s journey recently culminated in a successful living-donor liver transplant at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi.
It is a story of living organ donation at a time when Kashmir still lacks a liver transplant programme of its own, and organ donations from live donors continue to be rare.
The family requested that their identities be withheld to protect their privacy.
The elder brother recalled that their mother had been battling liver disease since 2019.
She was diagnosed with Hepatitis C and also had gallstones.
During her cholecystectomy, her liver biopsy was also taken.
“Unfortunately, it revealed liver cirrhosis,” the elder brother said.
“Doctors at GMC Srinagar started her treatment in 2021. However, the disease had progressed to Grade IV liver cancer, and doctors told us that liver transplant was her only chance to a healthy, long life,” he said.
Despite the gravity of the diagnosis, the sons decided not to give up.
They decided to pursue transplantation while she was otherwise healthy.
“She did not have any other comorbidities, like diabetes or hypertension, so we thought this was the right time to explore a liver transplant,” the elder son recalls.
Both brothers share the same O-positive blood group, while their mother had A-positive.
They were universal donors, and could easily give their mother a lease of life.
“Originally, I was the donor,” the elder brother said. “But after all the tests, my younger brother’s liver volume was found to be more suitable. Blood group is only one part,” he said.
Doctors assess the liver volume before deciding who can donate.
The donor, a young man of 22, underwent surgery alongside his mother.
“The donor was fit. But during surgery, the recipient lost much more blood than anticipated. Nearly 20 units of blood had to be arranged,” he said.
He expressed gratitude to those who responded to the family’s appeal in Delhi.
The brother awaited donors, mostly students from Kashmir studying in Delhi, to arrive when this report was filed.
The transplant itself was made possible through crowdfunding.
The brothers say they never feared becoming living donors.
“Liver is an amazing organ created by Allah,” the elder brother said.
He said he knew that liver donors and recipients go on to live healthy lives.
“I had no inhibitions,” he said.
He said seeing another successful transplant up close had strengthened his resolve.
“One of our neighbours had received part of his wife’s liver soon after they were married. Today they have children and are living healthy lives,” he said.
While cadaver liver transplants are increasingly common in hospitals of southern India, the family never considered waiting for one.
“There are a lot of cadaver transplants taking place. But we wanted to donate ourselves. When our mother has two sons who can donate, why would we snatch the chance from someone else. They may have only cadaver transplant as their option,” the son said, waiting for his brother and mother to walk out healthy from one of the most complex of transplants.
