Post kidney transplant, labourer’s son still vulnerable, needs help

Labourer Surinder Pal Sharma (38) of Manjal Kalan near Patiala could have donated his kidney to his son, Vishal Sharma (17), had there been a second earning member in the family.

Doctors at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, got the boy a suitable donor. He received a kidney but the battle is not over yet. The immunosuppressants (anti-rejection drugs) that are to follow are still costly. Vishal’s father has already spent around Rs 5 lakh on the treatment by selling all he had, and seeking help from as many people possible.

The medicines cost him about Rs 30,000 every month. Life is cruel, he says. “Hun ta main paise mang mang ke wi thak gea han (I am even tired of begging for money now),” were the words of a helpless father. “Vishal had finished his Class-7 examinations when we came to know that both his kidneys had stopped working. We took him to hospitals in Patiala and Sohana; and for the past three years, he was on dialysis until we got a donor,” said Sharma.

Vishal is in Chandigarh for regular tests and check-ups; in the care of his paternal grandmother, Kaushalya Devi. Labourer Sharma cannot even afford to be with his son, for he must toil and earn for the poor family.

Vishal’s grandmother said the two were putting up in a rented apartment here. Her grandson would be on medicines all his life but, for the first six months, the cost is way too high. “Day in and day out, I only pray for him to get well,” she said.

What are immunosuppressants?

Medicines used to lower the body’s ability to reject a transplanted organ

These medicines weaken the immune system so as to lower the rejection process

Due to the lack of immunity after taking these drugs, the body becomes prone to infections, for which regular tests and check-ups are necessary.

How you can help Vishal?

You can contact Surinder Pal Sharma at 9855689286

You can transfer money into his bank account (number 0379000100366636; IFSC code PUNB 0037900; Punjab National Bank, Gur Mandi branch, Patiala)