Wives donate their kidneys to save lives of each other’s husband

“Earlier my brother had donated his kidney but my body rejected it a year after the transplant. I was put on dialysis again. My wife was willing to donate her kidney but our blood groups did not match,” said Yuvraj,who lives at Tembhirni,near Indapur.

Amol’s was a similar case. He was no dialysis for four and a half years and had urged the doctor to look for a donor. “I have my own business at Shirur and used constantly fall sick due to infections. I had to visit Pune for dialysis and it had taken a toll on my health,” Amol said. Dr Rokade it was sheer luck that the blood groups of their wives matched with each other’s husband.

“Such spousal swap transplants are rare. The first one in the city was done in 2009 when the wives of Ramdas Pawar and Sanjay Shinde had donated their kidneys to save each other’s husband,” Rokade said. He said since both Yuvraj and Amol were being treated at the same hospital,it was easy to encourage thier spouse to donate their kidneys. Yuvraj’s blood group was A-negative and so was Priti’s. Amol’s and Suwarna’s blood groups were B-positive. “It was just a matter of conducting other tests. Both couples have been discharged and are fine,” Rokade said.

Dr S M Ambike,Head of the Department of Nephrology at Jehangir Hospital who had conducted the first spousal swap transplant in the city,said bringing together such families involves coordinated efforts among hospitals. “Approximately 50 kidney transplants are performed a year. Several deserve a transplant but it is not easy to find a suitable donor,” Dr Farookh Wadia,member,Zonal Transplant Coordination Centre said.