Heart of the kidney matter

BANGALORE: When Reuben Bhowmik returned to college last week after a whole year, it was more than just a routine comeback for him. It was an intensely emotional moment for Ronny and his father D. Bhowmik.
On that day, the inseparable duo (their camaraderie is a treat to watch) was celebrating life. They were raising a toast to a new chapter in their triumph over sickness, its accompanying agony, suffering, even deep personal tragedy.
Thanks to a kidney transplant, son Reuben, all bloated up and wasting before his eyes, had bounced back into the thick of life, and father Bhowmik could barely contain his joy.
Eighteen-year-old Reuben is living life full throttle, making up for lost time. For one who has catapulted himself into life from the deep end, he knows the value of moments ticking by. His agenda is chock-a-block. First, he will slog over his books. A surgeon is what he wants to become, he says determinedly, specialising in organ transplants. After all, he owes his life to the kidney of an accident victim.
They don''t know the youth by name or face. That is the rule in cadaver organ transplants. The liaisoning agency --in Bangalore it is Forte -- takes over. They toil behind the scene to identify brain dead cases in hospitals, retrieving their organs well in time, performing mandatory tests, matching blood groups and rushing the preserved organs ticking with life to the most suitable recipient in the list of desperate patients awaiting transplants and another go at life. The organ is then safely embedded in another body, to pick up from where it left off.
Over and above that is the sensitive issue of relatives'' nod to organ donation at a difficult juncture, when they must let go of dear ones on life support system. Most crucial perhaps is the dual role doctors must play, first in certifying brain dead cases, then being pillars of support and strength to the bereaved, counselling them on cadaver organ donations.
Convalescing in hospital last November, the transplanted kidney making a world of a difference to his quality of life, Ronny and his father raised a salute to the family of the deceased youth.
Six months later, Bhowmik chokes with emotion as he retrospects. Reuben was cause for worry from age two when he was laid up with a urinary tract infection. That led to Nephritis, Nephrotic Syndrome and ultimately kidney failure. There may have been interludes of remission, but Reuben was tapering off with abnormally high blood pressure levels, severe oedema, weight loss and other complications.
And as if the Bhowmiks did not have more than their share of troubles already, Reuben lost his mother unexpectedly in 2000. Father Bhowmik was broken, but he held on.
When drugs and dialysis failed to make a difference, Bhowmik decided on kidney transplant. And in his hunt for a kidney, he was exposed full view to the seamy side of organs trade. Bhowmik despaired, but he decided on the straight way. He registered with Forte for a cadaveric organ.
The wait was frustrating, disappointing and immensely trying. The mafia was stifling Forte''s efforts. But it paid off. Post-transplant, Reuben has a rigid drug regimen of anti-suppressants, cortico-steroids and anti-hypertensive drugs. Treatment is expensive and Bhowmik feels stretched.
However, everything takes a backseat as he laps up the sight of son Reuben back in mainstream, hale and hearty. There is no end to his craving for more of Reuben.
meerajohn@indiatimes.com.