A recent kidney transplant in Pune made news when a mother-in-law donated a kidney to her daughter-in-law.
We spoke to Dr Deepak Kirpekar, the operating surgeon who conducted this operation.
"We regularly do kidney transplant operations. We have seen a son give a kidney to his father, a sister give a kidney to her brother and a brother to a sister, this is very commonly done. The case that you are talking about, this was a case where it was a middle-class family - father, mother and two sons. One of the son's wife needed a kidney.
"The daughter-in-law's family members were willing to give a kidney but the father and mother are both above 70 and the brother had diabetes hence it could not be done. Then the mother-in-law said that although she is not my blood relative, check if my kidney matches. Her kidney matched", says Dr Kirpekar.
In this case, Batul Haji Sayyad (mother-in-law) donated a kidney to Nazema Awjein Sayyad (daughter-in-law).
Dr Kirpekar said this was the first time in his career that he had seen a 'saas' give a kidney to a 'bahu'.
“This gives a positive message in society. Generally, there is a perception that the relationship between a mother and daughter-in-law is not that good, but that is not correct. In a lot of places, the relationship between a ‘saas’ and ‘bahu’ can be good."
In India, unless one is a blood relative, permission is required from an authorization committee established by that particular state for organ donation even if it involves donation by another family member.
Directorate General of Health Services gives an outline here about the National Organ Transplant programme in India.
Dr Kirpekar tells SBS Hindi,
“Basically they want to ensure that there is no buying or selling of organs involved and there is no money transaction involved.”
