In a first for Navi Mumbai, the kidney swap saved two lives from two families — one from Uran in Navi Mumbai and another from Sion in Mumbai. The kidney transplant surgery was successfully performed at the Apollo Hospital in Navi Mumbai.

Sunandha Sitha, 49, a resident of Uran, wished to donate a kidney to her son, Rahul Sitha,28. Similarly, Gurudev Saini, 64, a resident of Sion wanted to donate a kidney to his wife, Parvinder Saini, 61. But neither Sunandha nor Gurudev were compatible matches with their respective family members.

They were on dialysis at Apollo Hospital in Belapur for around two years. For those suffering from end-stage kidney diseases, a kidney transplant is the only treatment. If the patient does not find a donor, he or she has to remain on dialysis.

Dr Amol Kumar Patil, Consultant, Robotic Urology and Renal Transplant Surgeon at the hospital said, “We checked their swap compatibility and informed them about the possibility.”

“A swap transplant attempts to minimize the shortfall of donors. It is an exchange of organs between two families, who cannot donate the organ to their own family member due to incompatibility concerns such as blood group mismatch or HLA mismatch,” said Dr Patil.

The families found hope in each other as due to medical concerns, it became impossible for family members to give a kidney to their own kin. The family agreed to a swap and Sitha, mother of Rahul Sitha, donated a kidney to Parvinder Saini, wife of Gurudev Singh and Gurudev Singh donated a kidney to Rahul Sitha.

Saini said that his wife is doing well after the kidney swap. “I was not getting a kidney for almost 18 months. Although I was willing to give my kidney but due to incompatibility, I could not donate her,” said Saini.

Dr Patil said, “Gurudev Saini was A+ and his wife was AB+. In addition, there were also medical conditions which were not allowing the transplant within the family.”

Rahul Sitha recalls that he had lost hope after almost two years of wait. Meanwhile, the hospital informed that there is a patient whose wife needs a kidney and that is compatible with his mother’s blood group. “The hospital also assisted in legal formalities,” said Sitha.