Suffering from end-stage renal disease, 50-year-old Somita Das (name changed to protect identity) had been to KEM hospital thrice in two years with the hope of getting a donated kidney.

The patient, who was suffering from complete kidney failure for six years, had almost given up hope when a phone call changed her life.

She was on dialysis.

A 58-year-old man had been declared brain-dead at Pune’s Jehangir Hospital on Thursday and his family had decided to donate his kidneys. One of the kidneys went to a patient at Jehangir hospital.

However, as there was no matching patient in Pune for the other kidney the Zonal Transplant Co-ordination Committee — that authorises transplants in the state — specially flew the kidney to Mumbai for transplant.

“This doesn’t happen usually. There are many patients on waiting list and usually patients in the same city are given kidneys. But they had no matching donor at that time in Pune, so we decided to pick up the kidney and transplant it,” said Dr Vatsala Trivedi, head of Zonal Transplant Co-ordination Committee.

“Three patients were called but they weren’t fit for surgery. Das was fit,” said Dr N K Hase, nephrologist and transplant co-ordinator, KEM hospital.

Das was operated on Thursday and is recuperating in the ICU of KEM hospital. Her condition is stable.

“Her body has accepted the kidney and she is responding well. Though the kidney function is limited right now, with time and medication it will get to normalcy,” added Hase.

This case has taken the number of cadaver transplants in the city to 18 until June.
Last year, 16 cadaver transplants had taken place in the city.