A Tribute to the real ‘HEROINES’ on Women's day - Living Lady Donors!

People who donate part of their organs, livers, or kidneys to their family members are called living donors. These are brave, competent, & self-sacrificing ladies who manage to pull their families through one of the biggest crises that anyone can imagine, sometimes with only sheer guts, faith & arduous work on their side. The South Asian Liver Institute, Liver Transplant Team at Wockhardt Hospitals, Mumbai, Nagpur, and all their colleagues come together to salute these REAL heroes.

Today we celebrate Women’s Day, in recognition of the fairer gender without whom life itself would not exist. But in addition to this crucial fact, we feel many more things in our lives would fall apart without women … from mothers & sisters in families to doctors & nurses in Hospitals, managers & sales ladies in malls, administrators & tele-callers in offices, to chefs & cleaners in schools, etc. Many of these women unfortunately work without their fair share of recognition and receive a lesser percentage of remuneration.

We, at Wockhardt Hospitals, Mumbai wishes to pay a small tribute to these special ladies as a token of our appreciation. Prof. Dr. Tom Cherian, Senior Liver Specialist & Transplant Surgeon, and the Founder- Of South Asian Liver Institute, Hyderabad commented on the occasion “More recently police officers, sportswomen, women soldiers are all slowly beginning to be recognised for their contributions, but we see every day a peculiar hero - a lady organ donor! I feel for these women, especially for many reasons. One, they are unsung, no one even knows their names. Two, they happily donate a large part of their liver for their loved ones without a second thought for their safety.

However, the third & most important fact that no one notices is that they do it whilst going through one of the biggest crises of their lives. As you can understand a liver transplant is only done as a last option for patients and by this time, the liver recipients are quite sick and at risk of death. In these circumstances, the good member of the family (often the same person as the donor) must cope with the stress of being a donor, having a loved one critically ill, and must arrange or facilitate the various mandatory paraphernalia that goes with such a complex operation, from certifications to finances. It is THIS unthinkable scenario that these ladies must face which makes me call them the REAL Heroines … who deserve our respect & utmost gratitude.

Prof Dr. Tom Cherian added, “I do not have anything against the pretty movie heroes that our social media is full of. But I cannot help but think and notice that the beauty of what these ladies are achieving through their sheer determination, selfless love, and guts, far surpasses the superficial beauty seen on any silver screen. Regardless of any of the facts mentioned above, although 75% of the transplants in the country are done this way, I do feel a little sad that such heroes and people, in general, would need to donate at all if every cadaver donor from people who are brain stem dead is utilised in India. There would be enough organs for every patient who needs a Liver transplant or any other transplant and we in India would not need to subject any of these wonderful women through such an ordeal. May such dreams come true.”

Ms. Zahabiya Khorakiwala, Managing Director, Wockhardt Hospitals Group said, “We are proud to be associated with such wonderful people and proud of our transplant program and the difference it is bringing to people’s lives, but it would not have been possible without these brave women. I conclude with a respectful salute to these lady donor heroes, an affectionate ‘thank you for all you do’ to all women on women’s day; and a plea from us at Wockhardt Hospitals to all Indians, “DON’T WASTE CADAVER ORGANS.”