Kochi: A Professor of Management Studies at Jamia Hamdard University in Delhi has donated one of his kidneys to a stranger in Kerala,suffering from renal failure and undergoing dialysis.
"I wanted to give lease of life to someone while I was alive," said Sakhi John, a native of Thiruvalla in Kerala, fulfilling this resolve by donating one of his kidneys to 44-year old Shaju Paul, a laborer from Peechi in Thrissur district.
The transplantation took place at the VPS Lakeshore Hospital here on December 28 last. Paul was selected as the recipient from those who had registered with the Kidney Federation of India, founded by Fr Davis Chiramel, a kidney donor himself, according to a hospital release here Wednesday.
When my father passed away in 2011, his eyes were donated. Later when I met the ophthalmologist who had conducted the transplants on two recipients, he told me how they could see the world again because of my father," 45-year old John.
"That was when I thought of donating my organs," said John, who has been working with AIDS patients and had been actively associated with an NGO working for slum kids. In 2015, John met Father Chiramel and volunteered to donate his kidney.
Paul, who was the sole breadwinner of the family, comprising his wife Shibi and children Alwin and Angel, had lost all hope when he was informed in July last year that both of his kidneys were damaged. It was when John came as an angel with the gift of life.
But, money was a matter of concern for Shaju, who was a daily wage earner, till the villagers of Manakkuzhi in Peechi, came together and collected Rs 22 lakh to fund the transplant. According to the hospital authorities, both the donor and the recipient are in good condition.
John was discharged on January 2 and Shaju has been shifted to room, they said.