|
||
|
|
|
|
Astrology
Chat
Cityscape
Classifieds
Entertainment
Health
Matrimonial |
|
|||||||
|
There’s life after transplant
One the one hand we are talking about something as serious as transplant and then of games… is this some kind of a joke, you might ask. No. It is a very serious issue.
Two friends were meeting after a long time at the lunch hall of a wedding. “Ravi, is that water bottle for your son?” asked his friend. “No. This is for me. Ever since my kidney transplant, I have been so scrupulously careful about hygiene and clean water and food.” He was the one of the lucky few who got a donor. His mother was able and willing to give a fresh lease of life to her 30-year-old son by donating her kidney. “You have two children now,” the friend continued the conversation. “Yes. Like BC and AD, I have one before the kidney transplant and one after,” he laughs. Ravi’s case highlights two points in the case of a kidney transplant patient. That they have to maintain a life-long vigil over their health and that they can live a normal life as long as they live.
The games are usually held once in two years. This is the first time they are being held in Chennai and the first time that members of SAARC have been invited. “We have received a few entries from Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka for now and hope that there would be participants from Pakistan and other countries also,” said Stella Mathew, administrator, MOHAN Foundation. People who have had kidney transplants and wish to participate in the games can register themselves for Rs 400 (any companion would be charged Rs 300) for the two-day programme. They would be provided accommodation (if from outside Chennai), food and a kit that would not cost less than Rs 1,500. The kit would have a track suit, cap and other goodies with whatever the pharma companies wish to throw in. There will be a cultural nite hosted by actor Madhavan on the first day. Patients who are musicians, singers or dancers are encouraged to participate in the show after being auditioned. Stella Mathew points out that many patients have been apprehensive about the food they would be served. She assures that they would be prepared hygienically and under the watchful eyes of the organisers.
MOHAN has introduced the concept of donor cards. These are similar to the eye donation cards that have become very popular. But the other organs can be harvested only under certain circumstances but the donor card would go a long way in helping the relatives understand the wish of the person who would not be in a position to say he/she would like the organs donated. Both organisations stretch their funds to the limit to help patients who come to them for help. TANKER provides subsidised dialysis and helps out with monetary help in cases it cannot help. MOHAN’s patient support group in Chennai and Mumbai help patients with subsidised drugs. “What we are trying to say is that you can lead a normal life as long as you take the drugs that prevent rejection of the donated organ. Malathi Venkatesan, a transplant patient, is a wonderful example because she is a trustee of TANKER and is involved in the support group run by MOHAN,” says Latha A. Kumaraswami, managing trustee of TANKER. She says this message should reach the employers who turn away patients with transplants for various reasons. She argues on their behalf and says, “Don’t provide insurance cover for them. But at least give them the dignity of life, of not being rejected because they have had a transplant. That is the time that they need all the help society can give them. A monthly salary would at least cover their drugs expenditure,” she concludes with a lot of feeling. Those wishing to donate (the games are going to cost them a pretty packet) or register, please contact:
S Chitra
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||
The Multi Organ Harvesting Aid Network (MOHAN) and Tamilnad Kidney Research Foundation (TANKER) are organising the 8th all-India transplant games and first SAARC country transplant games in Chennai on December 13-14.
That is what the games being orgnaised in Chennai are going to prove to people. The theme being ‘Back to Life’, they have arranged for active sports like tennis, track events and athletics for those who have undergone complex surgeries and “motivate other patients with organ failure to give them the courage to face the future with hope”.
She also welcomes those who have not been donors or recipients to take part in the programme by paying a nominal amount for the food they would be providing.
