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Kashmir, Haryana families swap kidneys to save loved ones
20-year-old Ifra from Kashmir donated her kidney to Ajay from Haryana, whose wife Geeta donated hers to Ifra’s mother at a Panchkula hospital
Two families from Kashmir and Haryana stood tall as they epitomised brotherhood and sacrifice in the act of swapping kidneys to save the lives of their loved ones.
20-year-old Ifra Jan, a class 12 student from Shahoo Sachan village of Kulgam district in Kashmir donated her kidney to a man from Yamunanagar, whose wife Geeta donated her kidney to Ifra’s mother in a swap transplant at a private hospital in Panchkula.
Ifra said that religions teach us love and compassion, and strictly prohibit violence. “We need to introspect as to why initiatives such as this have became so important. Is religion such a huge barrier for even helping each other?” Ifra questioned.
Ifra’s mother, the 47-year-old Zubaida Bano was suffering from kidney damage for more than two years. She had been undergoing regular dialysis at a Srinagar hospital. When her condition began deteriorating in the last one year, despite frequent dialysis, doctors advised immediate kidney transplant.
“Initially my father was willing to donate his kidney but a medical examination found his kidney unfit for donation. I was found ineligible due to a blood group mismatch with my mother. There was no other eligible donor in the family with a matching blood group,” Ifra said.
Fortunately, at the same time, 33-year old Ajay Kumar from Yamunanagar approached the Panchkula hospital with an acute kidney issue.
After a detailed analysis of both patients, it was found that both these of them were eligible for a paired exchange kidney transplant, which is a legally and medically viable option.
This meant that Ifra could donate her kidney to the Haryana man, while his wife Geeta could donate to Ifra’s mother. “Ifra has come into our lives like an angel at a time when my husband required an urgent kidney transplant,” Geeta said.
After tissues were matched and both donors’ kidneys matched perfectly with respective patients, the necessary legal permissions were sought from the respective state authorities of J &K and Haryana, said doctors of the hospital. Thereafter, the transplants were performed successfully at the private hospital.
