Bengaluru: Twenty-three-year-old Shakeer D, from the city cannot thank god and the doctors enough for giving him a new lease to life. Shakeer who underwent a successful simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant which was also the first in Karnataka is ready to live life once again.
"I have been suffering from Type 1 Diabetes requiring insulin since the age of twelve and had also developed diabetes-related complications and this condition led to multi-organ failure because of which I was on dialysis and insulin for the past two years," says Shakeer.
What makes his case unique was that only seven simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplants have been done across the country and now the first in Karnataka was performed by BGS Global Hospitals. "There have been seven such transplants in the country, first being Delhi followed by Cochin, Hyderabad and Chennai.
Many hospitals have tried but have not been successful,” says Dr Sonal Asthana Consultant, Organ Transplant Surgeon. Speaking about the surgery, Dr Sonal says, “The operation took around 8-10 hours with multiple teams and multiple logistics at work.”Shakeer had initially come for consideration of a kidney transplant. However on assessment, it was very clear that given his poor diabetic control, a combined pancreas and kidney transplant would offer him the best chance of long term survival.
“We had extensive discussions with the family about his condition and the surgical procedure. Pancreas transplant is a complex procedure and the surgical risks are higher than a kidney transplant alone. The patient and his family considered the options and decided to go ahead on the waitlist for a pancreas transplant," said Dr Anil Kumar, Consultant Nephrologist BGS Global Hospitals.
"Shakeer was placed on the waitlist for a combined pancreas and kidney transplant as per the norms of the Zonal Co-ordination committee of Karnataka. Typically, the selection criteria for pancreas are very stringent given the possibility of pancreatitis, so patients generally have to wait longer for suitable organ matching as compared to those waiting for a kidney alone.
Shakeer was on the waiting list for 18 months. Last month, we received a call from the ZCCK saying that a suitable donor had been identified," informed Dr Rajiv Lochan, Consultant, Organ Transplant Surgeon, BGS Global Hospitals. Post transplant he is doing well and the whole family is overjoyed to see him lead a normal life.
