Uttam Kumar Ghosh, a Bangladeshi national, got a new lease of life after his mother donated one of her kidneys to him, but his survival story is not just a case of organ transplant as both had to get the better of COVID-19 before the surgery.
Ghosh, 38, came to Kolkata with his mother Kalpana and other family members in January to get himself treated for kidney ailments.
Authorities at RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences (RTIICS) said after necessary clearance from the health department, doctors fixed date in March for Ghosh’s surgery, but the sudden imposition of lockdown stalled the plan.
The family breathed a sigh of relief when the Union Health Ministry issued an advisory recommending emergency transplant surgeries during the lockdown. However, they were again disappointed as tests showed the mother-son duo had contracted COVID-19.
Both of them were sent to the state government-run MR Bangur Hospital for treatment, said Dr. DS Ray, the head of the nephrology department at RTIICS.
“Kumar and his mother were released from the government hospital on June 12 following their recovery. We waited for another three-and-a-half week and asked them to stay under home quarantine. After conducting two rounds of tests to ensure they were cured of COVID-19, we decided to go forward with the transplant,” Dr. Ray said.
Both the donor and the recipient are recuperating well and have been discharged from the hospital, the nephrology department head at RTIICS said.
“Uttam is doing fine and we hope he recuperates as per our expectations. He has been advised to visit the hospital for necessary checkups. The mother and the son have been told to stay here for the next couple of months,” Dr. Ray added.