7-year- old boy back on his feet with kidney from grandmother.

BENGALURU: Earlier this year, Bharan Sai Narasimha, a seven- year old boy from Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, started complaining of acute pain in his legs while walking. A thorough examination revealed progressive bone bending in his lower legs. This was due to end stage kidney failure. The child was also found to be suffering from mild liver derangements.

With transplant being the only alternative, the boy was registered with Jeevasarthakathe, the organ transplant authority in Karnataka, for cadaver kidney transplant. However, the waiting list of over 2,200 patients prompted the family to consider live donor transplant instead.

Bharan’s parents and 53 year old grandma Sarojamma volunteered to donate their kidney. Tests showed the elderly woman was the most suitable donor, something Sarojamma too had wished.

Earlier this month, the boy underwent transplant at Rainbow Children’s Hospital; both the donor and the recipient are doing well, say doctors.

Lakshmi Narasaiah describes his son’s recovery as a rebirth of sorts.He couldn’t walk more than 50 steps at a time and the bones of his legs were bending. We first took him to a neurologist for a general check-up. But he was referred to a nephrologist. That’s when we realized the gravity of the problem, he said.

Bending bone is a symptom of kidney failure. In his case, both the kidneys had failed. They were in irreversible condition. He was on dialysis for over one and a half, said Dr. Saumil Gaur, pediatric nephrologist, Rainbow Children’s Hospital.

INSPIRING TREND

Bharan’s grandmother is the third granny to have come forward to save their grandchilds  life at Rainbow Children’s Hospital since 2016. In January 2016, a six year old girl got a kidney from her 58 year old paternal grandma. In May 2016, we had the case of a nine year old boy receiving a kidney from his paternal grandmother. The Boy’s kidneys weren’t well formed at birth and they had started

shrinking. Such cases should inspire and encourage families of kidney patients, said Dr Gaur.