Reflections of a kidney transplant survivor
Happy and healthy Christmas outlook …
Not Rehanna Ramsay
Mr. Sheonarine three months on dialysis.
Kaieteur News For more than 100 patients on the kidney transplant waiting list, finding the right donor could be the single deciding factor on whether they live or die.
Many of these patients have stories of how their worlds were turned upside down after being diagnosed with a failed kidney by their doctors; their quality of life literally became dependent on costly dialysis treatment. And for those patients, the impact of the disorder has far-reaching effects, especially on the closest – their families. This is too familiar territory for Nurse Chitra Sheonarine. She told Kaieteur News that when her father was diagnosed with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) or chronic kidney disease in February this year, she felt as if her life was coming to an end. As a healthcare provider, Sheonarine is aware of the struggles of patients with renal failure and the slim chances many have for life-saving transplant surgery, due to the unavailability of organ donors.
Doctors and nurses during the transplant procedure.
As such, he immediately reached out to the Head of the transplant operations of Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) Corporation, Dr. Kishore Persaud. Sheonarine recalled, “Dr. Persaud gave us the best advice on our options for care and treatment. ”
Shortly afterwards, he said arrangements were made for Mr Sheonarine to receive dialysis treatment, which cost $ 12,000 per session. The treatment, administered three times a week, was a big tax on the Sheonarine family.
“It was expensive but my dad is worth the sacrifice, there’s no question about that. It means everything to my family and me. We can’t afford to lose it. We have a very close connection and I want my daughter to have the same love and connection with her grandfather, ”she said of her 54-year-old father.
Mr. Sheonarine shares a moment with his daughter and donor.
The healing process for Mr Sheonarine has begun.
As a result, Nurse Sheonarine began to explore the possibility of having the operation, while her father was undergoing treatment for his condition.
He explained that as an essential part of the transplant is to find a donor who matched her father, he quickly offered to donate one of his kidneys.
“This was his best chance of surviving a normal life, one not reliant on dialysis,” he said.
The nurse said her father received dialysis for three months at the 5G dialysis center in South Georgetown before they could have the operation.
“We had been talking to Dr. Persaud and preparing for the operation. We had to do several blood and compatibility tests before we could proceed, ”said the nurse, explaining that although the surgery at the GPHC is free, testing can be costly.
One such component of the procedure is the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) assays. The test is done to determine if the organ and tissue transplant recipients are compatible with their donors.
HLA testing also involves screening transplant recipients for the presence of antibodies that could target the donated tissue or organ as part of an immune response.
Nurse Sheonarine and her family are grateful to have their father, happy and healthy, this Christmas.
That test, which is the most crucial part of the procedure, is done at a Miami-based medical facility and costs close to G $ 1M.
The cost is partly met by the Government of Guyana, but does not always prove compatibility between the donor and recipient, even if blood is involved.
Fortunately, for the Sheonarines, the test was positive for compatibility and they were able to proceed with the operation, in October last year.
The nurse stated that despite concerns about the pandemic, she felt a sense of comfort and relief knowing that her father’s condition would improve significantly after the surgery.
“I wasn’t too worried about getting the COVID-19 viruses because GPHC nurses and doctors made us feel safe and comfortable about the whole procedure. It was nothing to worry about, ”he said.
“This year was difficult for many people, not many survived and so, for my family and I, we are forever grateful that we were able to pull through successfully. I have no words to say how grateful I am to Dr. Persaud and the whole GPHC team saw us through this life-saving operation, ”said Sheonarine, adding that her father was one of the few people, who benefited from kidney transplant surgery this year.
So this season, while many people are catching up with festive season festivities, the reality of people like the Sheonarines is completely different.
Mr Sheonarine told Kaieteur News that this year, most of all, he was grateful to be alive and to be able to spend the holidays with his loving and supportive family. The minibus operator talked about the struggle of having to live on dialysis for three months.
“Living on dialysis changed my life and it was difficult for my whole family,” she said, adding “I was glad my daughter was able to donate her kidney to help me.”
After benefiting from the transplant operation, Mr Sheonarine and his daughter are very supportive of calls for legislation that will make it easier for patients who need transplant surgery to find donors.
“I feel so much better. The surgery was helpful to me and I think it would be really good if the government could pass the law to give patients like me better access to donor transplant surgery, ”he asserted.
Nurse Sheonarine expressed similar feelings.
“I think legislation to govern cadaveric organ donation and transplantation,” he said, “is a great idea because more people will be able to access organs even if they don’t have a living donor.”
Cadaveric donations are organs, which are harvested from brain-dead patients, and given to others. This method reduces the overall cost of hospitalization compared to having to harvest the organ from a living donor.
Once the law is in place, GPHC will carry out the operations at no cost. Meanwhile, the hospital continues to fight for the necessary legislation to save lives and help resolve the burden of kidney failure in Guyana.