40,000 people in Maharashta await kidney transplant

West Bengal

Gira Soni, 43, has been on dialysis for 11 years after an autoimmune disease ravaged her kidneys. Recently, she developed Hepatitis C through an infection contracted during the dialysis process.

Since she doesn’t have a family member to donate a kidney, her only hope is a cadaver transplant. But that too is a long shot.

There are 4 lakh people in India who need a kidney transplant. “Only 1% of that number or 4,000 people actually get a transplant. And less than 5% of those 4,000 people get a cadaver transplant,” said Dr Bharat Shah, senior nephrologist and transplant specialist.

Gira’s brother, Rohit, said his sister would be lucky to get a transplant in the next 10 years. Apart from Gira, Rohit’s two brothers and another sister too suffer from kidney ailments.

“Around 40,000 people in Maharashtra need a kidney transplant.