Kalpana Ghosh, 65, donated a kidney to her son Uttam
Kolkata:
For those who thought COVID-19 was the end of the world, a story about Kolkata was about to change its mind. A Bangladeshi woman donated a kidney to her son who was in an advanced stage of kidney failure. The transplant took place in Kolkata on July 3. Yes, this has happened several times already. But never before in India, at least the survivors of the donor and recipient COVID-19.
The love of a mother is what gave Kalpana Ghosh, 65, the desire to give a kidney to her son Uttam despite his age and despite the fact that they must both fight against it. potentially fatal coronavirus infection before being able to undergo kidney transplant-saving lives.
“I am very brave, didi. I now thought that I had started swimming, I would cross the river. I decided that I would return to Dhaka with my son,” said Kalpana Ghosh.
Her son supported him. “My mother’s courage allowed us to get through the double blow. First the need to transplant her kidney, then we both tested positive. We spent 10 days at the COVID-19 government hospital, M Bangur. His courage gave me strength, “said Uttam.
For doctors too, it was a double challenge: an organ transplant during a pandemic and among COVID-19 survivors.
The mother and son had come from Dhaka to the RN Tagore private hospital in January. Obtaining authorizations for the transplant took a long time. By the time the government nodded, the lockdown had started. And then in June, on the eve of surgery, they tested positive for the coronavirus.
“So far, I know this is the first case where the organ transplant donor and recipient were survivors of the coronavirus,” said Dr. Deepak Shankar Ray, head of the nephrology department who performed the transplant.
“In an age of despair and gloom, this is good news. We can probably live with COVID-19, which we need to do. And we can probably do our usual work (services) for our patients during pandemic days too, “Dr. Shankar said.
It is indeed a silver lining for the coronavirus cloud. Now discharged from the hospital, the mother and her son will return to Dacca after having remained under medical observation for about three months.
