THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was an emotional get-together. Sherin Ann John and Arun Abraham, parents of Aalin Sherin — the country’s youngest organ donor — met Dhriya, the eight-month-old girl who received Aalin’s liver, for the first time in Thiruvananthapuram two months after the transplant. Sherin cradled the child on her lap, smiling through tears as she cuddled her.
The couple had long avoided such a meeting, ever since receiving a call from KIMSHEALTH about Shalabham, an event bringing together donor and recipient families. “We were reluctant because it was too emotional. I never tried to contact the family after the donation. We didn’t want Dhriya’s parents to feel obligated to us in any way,” said Arun, who runs an Akshaya Centre in Mallappally.
Yet the meeting turned into a cherished moment. Little Dhriya nestled comfortably in Sherin and Arun’s arms, her cheerful sounds filling the hall.
The family had lost their ten-month-old daughter Aalin in an accident in Kottayam in February. Despite their grief, her donation saved four lives-including Dhriya, then just six months old, and Shreya, a 10-year-old battling chronic kidney failure.
Dr Noble Gracious, executive director of K-SOTTO, said Arun had enquired about the progress of the child recipients.
Diagnosed with biliary atresia, a rare condition affecting one in 70,000 newborns, at just two months old, Dhriya’s parents, Baiju Kumar and Vidya, have lived near hospitals ever since to care for her.
The family now hopes to return home, though they must maintain a dust-free environment for at least two years to protect Dhriya’s health.