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'I had a kidney transplant in Pakistan'
'I had a kidney transplant in Pakistan'
Andrey Smirnov, 36, originally from Russia, is studying for a masters degree in interactive media in London. He travelled to Pakistan earlier this year for a kidney transplant.
‘I have had chronic kidney disease since 1990. At first, I led a normal life. But when I moved to London last year, things got worse. I had two options: dialysis or a transplant. Russia does very few transplants, and I was not entitled to join the two-year UK donor queue. But nor did I want a lifetime of dialysis, which involves 15 hours a week in hospital. In desperation, I turned to the internet and found one more option: a transplant abroad.
‘It was a difficult decision to make. UK doctors were against the idea due to the health risks. But I wanted my life back, so I approached a hospital in Pakistan. Luckily, Russian friends helped pay the £6,800 cost of the treatment. But I decided to keep the trip a secret from my college friends, as I didn’t want all the questions and explaining to do.
‘The hospital was in a poor, dusty satellite town near Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. I was shocked to see staff taking blood without gloves or washing their hands, but the doctors reassured me. They perform two transplants a day and were clearly experienced. Other patients said I was brave to come alone, and were very supportive.
‘On the evening before my operation, doctors gave me a dose of immune suppressants. I hallucinated all night. For the first time, I thought about jumping on a plane back to London. But the 90-minute operation took place without complications.
‘While recovering, I met and thanked my donor, a villager who would have been paid around £544. I asked him to follow the doctor’s post-op advice because that should allow him to return to a healthy life.
‘Back home in London, I immediately felt the benefits. I e-mailed friends photos and explained where I’d been. Bizarrely, I really did look like I was on holiday and not going through the hell of a transplant. Today, I feel like I’ve been reborn.’
Transplant surgery abroad — the facts
- In 2002, 29 patients from the UK travelled abroad for surgery. More than half the organs failed and one third of patients died.
- There is no law restricting the sale of organs in Pakistan. In one village [Mominpura], nearly 80 per cent of people have sold one kidney.
- From September 2006, ‘altruistic’ transplants from unrelated living donors are allowed in the UK.
- About 400 people a year die in the UK while waiting for a kidney.
- The BMA cautions: ‘These [overseas] transplants are not regulated or monitored, and we have no idea of the health of the donor. People… are putting themselves and others at risk by resorting to these extreme measures.’
Tuesday 22 August 2006
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This is a bloody outrage!!!!
Comment by Ben Austin on January 11 10:41