Page 28 - Seniorstoday September 21

combination of drugs and a strict diet - only liver to his relative. It was only after talking
2 grams of salt per day, only 1200 ml of
liquid.
In spite of the strict regime, his health
kept deteriorating, till, about a year later,
he started complaining of breathing
difficulty and a dry cough, which wouldn’t
settle. An x-ray showed pleural effusion
(fluid outside the lungs), which had to be
aspirated. Unfortunately, it recurred within
a couple of months, requiring repeated
aspirations.
At this point, his treating physician
urged us to meet a hepatologist, for further
treatment.
The day before our appointment with the
hepatologist, he took a turn for the worse
and had to be admitted in the hospital
where the hepatologist was an attendee.
The team of doctors there checked him and
treated the immediate problem; however,
we were told that the pleural effusion
would just keep recurring, as the liver
damage was extensive. The tests they ran
showed a completely cirrhotic liver, not
responding to treatment. We were advised
that the best course of treatment was a liver
transplant, possibly within a month.
We immediately got him registered in the
national transplant list, but his MELD score
(used to assess patients) was far too low;
he wouldn’t get a liver in the time frame
required.
The doctors then suggested a live donor,
someone in the family… a close relative.
Someone sharing a similar DNA profile, so
that it would be a match. Sharing the same
Blood group, I volunteered.
First obstacle, my father wouldn’t hear of
it… he didn’t want to put me at risk. What
convinced him was a long conversation
with an acquaintance… a friend who had,
just six months back, donated a part of his
28
to him, and the recipient, that he decided to
give it a thought.
Second obstacle, I was in no shape to
donate… the parameters for liver donation
are very rigid, and I did not fit in. We were
advised to ask close relatives if anyone
would come forward, but really, how
does one ask a relative to donate a piece of
themselves??
A graphic of a typical liver transplantation with the
replacement of a diseased liver
We were fast running out of time, his
health was going downhill… with no other
alternative, the team of doctors , and our
family, decided that we would go ahead
with me donating, if I was a match. I was
told to undergo a whole battery of tests, and
lose weight…up to 8 kgs in three weeks…
my liver had to be in prime condition.
The next two weeks were a jumble of
consultations with the doctors, the dietician
and the labs, as I underwent blood tests, a
very long and uncomfortable MRI, and a
painful liver biopsy.
I was also put on a strict diet, about 1000
calories a day. Restricted to having half a
fruit twice a day, half a bowl of rice, plenty
of green tea, no sugar, and, the toughest for
me, no chocolates. And, of course, exercise.
With no access to a gym (we were at the
hospital all the time), the hospital staircase