Sambalpur: Who said only blood defines familial bond and strengthens relationship between people? At times, the liver too does. Like it did for Pratima Pradhan and Umakanti. Though not related by blood, Pratima did not think twice before coming forward to part with a part of her liver for younger co-sister Umakanti, the mother to a small kid, who was battling with a life-threatening ailment in need of a liver transplant for survival.
Call it providence or luck, Pratima's parameters matched with Umakanti's when all other probable donors failed. Within days, the liver transplant took place and today both are recovering at a Hyderabad hospital.
Pratima belongs to Jankarpali village of Jujumura block in Sambalpur district where she stays in a joint family. Married to the elder son in the family, Pratima manages the household works in the family, while Umakanti is wedded to the younger son.
According to the family members, the medical journey leading up to this moment was long and exhausting. In 2018, after a gastric bypass surgery, Umakanti developed a septic abdomen, leading to irreversible liver damage. Over the next six years, her family tried every possible treatment, taking her to hospitals like VSS Institute of Medical Sciences and Reseach, (VIMSAR) Burla and AIIMS Bhubaneswar. But doctors finally confirmed that a liver transplant was her only hope of survival.
As the word spread, many people including Umakanti's husband's did not match the requirement for a liver transplant. It was then that Pratima wanted to get the test done and finally she proved the right match. "I knew mine would match. By god's grace, my conditions matched and I was happy, ready to give away a part of my liver," says a tired Pratima from the Yashoda Hospital in Secunderabad, Telangana.
After undergoing compatibility tests and securing the family’s consent, the transplant surgery was performed last Friday in Hyderabad. While Pratima has recovered well, Umakanti remains in the ICU under close medical supervision. Her family now waits anxiously, hoping she will soon return home, healed and healthy.
Pratima's father-in-law Srinivas said the elder daughter-in-law of the family always treated her co-sister has her own daughter. "Pratima had lost her mother when she was a child and she never wanted that Umakanti's child to lose his mother. She understood the pangs of growing up without a parent. Her gift to her co-sister will always keep us all indebted to her," says an emotional Srinivas.
"If both of us can share one liver, we will be like one life in two bodies, what more could have I asked for. I want Umakanti to recover soon so that our family does not have to be worried any more about her health," says Pratima. "I am happy to have served a some purpose in life," she says without realising how her organ donation was not a mean feat.
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