With father-in-law donating organ, young woman undergoes free transplant under philanthropic project in Shivamogga district

Twenty-nine-year-old Shravani (name changed) from a village in Shivamogga district, who battled life-threatening kidney failure, was saved by her 63-year-old father-in-law who donated his kidney. 

Twenty-nine-year-old Shravani (name changed) from a village in Shivamogga district, who battled life-threatening kidney failure, was saved by her 63-year-old father-in-law who donated his kidney. 

The transplant was done for free thanks to the collective efforts of Manipal Hospital Hebbal and The Rotary Foundation’s (TRF) Global Grant Lift-Up Project.

Ms. Shravani faced severe health challenges post-pregnancy, when she was diagnosed with advanced kidney disease. With both kidneys failing, she was put on dialysis twice a week. She continued the treatment despite logistical and financial barriers. The arduous travel from her village to the city, compounded by the lack of local nephrology expertise, only intensified her struggle. 

The family was already reeling under financial and emotional pressure. Her husband had suffered a debilitating stroke, leaving him dependent and unable to contribute to household responsibilities or consider organ donation himself. She was the family’s primary caregiver and also worked a part-time job to support her father-in-law, the primary breadwinner of the family.

At this juncture, her father-in-law came forward to donate his kidney. Despite this decision, the family’s financial constraints seemed an insurmountable obstacle to the kidney transplant she desperately needed. But help was available.

Manipal Hospital, Hebbal, played a pivotal role in giving Ms. Shravani a second chance at life. The hospital partnered with TRF’s Global Grant Lift-Up Project. Under this project, funding is provided to a minimum of 100 free transplants for underprivileged women and children. This is contingent on having legal living donors volunteering to donate but who could not financially afford the treatment and transplant costs.

A team of doctors from the hospital, led by Deepak Kumar Chithralli, Senior Consultant - Nephrologist and Transplant Physician, and Ajay S. Shetty, Head of Urology, Renal Transplantation and Robotic Surgery, performed the transplant on July 3. The patient was discharged on July 11.