KOCHI: Until 2014, Alex A endured a fearful existence as he was suffering from primary hyperoxaluria, a rare metabolic disorder that affects vital organs.
The Thiruvananthapuram resident, then 15, received a lease of life when the relatives of a brain dead woman decided to donate her organs.
As Thursday marks ten years of his successful surgery, Alex -- Kerala’s first multiple organ transplantee -- is at peace with life, and yearning to recover lost ground. Into the final year of a BA history distance course offered by the Kerala University, the 25-year-old is preparing to take tests to enter government service.
“Life before the transplant surgery was miserable. I was scared about my future and health. Now, I am healthy and peaceful,” Alex told TNIE. He suffered from primary hyperoxaluria from birth, and underwent a surgery when he was six. However, a kidney disease laid him low when he was 13. He had to wait for six months for a donor after registering with the Kerala Network of Organ Sharing (now the Kerala State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation).
“I was undergoing dialysis when the family of the brain dead woman gifted me a new life,” Alex said.
Dr Venugopal B, a senior consultant in gastrointestinal surgery and liver transplantation at the Lisie Hospital in Kochi, who led the medical team in the multiple organ transplant surgery, said Alex was suffering from renal failure and transplantation was the only option to save his life.
“I was working with KIMSHealth when the case came to me in 2013. Alex was suffering from multiple health conditions. The liver and kidney were transplanted during the same surgery for the first time in the state,” Dr Venugopal said of the surgery performed on February 8 in 2014. Alex returned to normal life within six months of the surgery, which was performed when he was in Class 10.
A year later, he decided to continue his studies and went on to complete his higher secondary education from the St Xavier’s HSS, Peyad, attending classes fully.
“But thereafter I experienced some difficulties and took a break for a few years,” he said.
And Alex has followed the advice of the doctors, to exercise regularly, to the hilt.
“I walk for 30 minutes every day and am involved in physical activities like everyone else to keep myself fit. Transplant can give people a better life. There is nothing to worry about,” he said.
Now, he has a message for the general public -- come forward to donate organs.
“When families decide to donate the organs of a dead person, they are saving several lives and helping solve several problems the families are facing. Nowadays, there are controversies around organ donation. However, there are thousands of people waiting for organs. Beyond the controversies, organ donation can gift a new life to several people,” Alex said.
Six-month wait for donor
Alex suffered from primary hyperoxaluria from birth, and underwent a surgery when he was six. However, a kidney disease laid him low when he was 13. He had to wait for six months for a donor after registering with the Kerala Network of Organ Sharing (now the Kerala State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation).