On 24th September 2023, an interactive session, “Meet the warrior- Ms.Bharti Ranga” was conducted by TRIOMPH - a Patient Support Group launched by MOHAN Foundation. This session was conducted as a motivational program for kidney transplant recipients.
Dr. Aanchal Makhija(Patient Support Group Counsellor) moderated this entire session. She welcomed the audience while introducing the key speaker and also gave a brief introduction to TRIOMPH. TRIOMPH is an acronym for Transplant Recipients of India and Organ failure Patients – a Movement to Provide Hope. TRIOMPH's main objectives are Education, Support and Advocacy for its Patient Community and Caregivers. She began by talking about the importance of taking care of self post-transplant, so as to preserve the second chance of life that has been possible through organ transplant.
The Key speaker- Ms. Bharti Ranga(Investment Banker), is a recipient of Kidney from a deceased donor. In 2019, she has received the kidney from a young girl. Post her transplant she has also been supporting the medicines of poor patients who underwent transplant under Anudaan initiative by MOHAN FOUNDATION. This was an important session as it disproves the myths that organ received from a cadaveric or brain dead person doesn’t last longer as compared to a living organ donation.
She shared that she was diagnosed with kidney failure in 2017 with only the symptoms of fatigue, nausea and vomiting and on investigations her creatinine was 3.0. As per the rules of Kolkata government one can register for the transplant only if they are undergoing dialysis. She was put on dialysis in the year 2019. In August, 2019, she got a call to receive the organ form a brain dead young girl. She shared she had mixed bag of emotions till the whole process of matching with the donor did not happen. She also compared her journey pre and post transplant. How earlier she felt the build up of toxins and used to feel tired easily. Post transplant she felt normal and full of energy.
On asking upon the comparison of receiving the organ from a cadaveric vs living donor, she shared, “One must not dig deep, from where we are receiving the organ. Getting an organ, it-self is a good fortune.” She emphasised one must not Google about the life of cadaveric organ, and rather one must focus on healing oneself completely.
Post transplant, she used to keep a track of her urine using the urine measure container. This habit made her realize that suddenly her urine levels have dropped. Without the slightest delay she visited her doctor immediately and was put on high doses of steroids and this vigilance helped her recover soon. She shared in brief about her food habits which includes no or very less salt. She avoids consuming raw salads or vegetables even in 5 star hotels. She peels off the skin of fruits and consumes it immediately. She also emphasised on making walk a regular practice post transplant. Bharti has started doing cardio exercise as advised by her doctor.
Some of the important takeaway message by her included -
1. Measure your urine levels at-least till 6 months
2. Get your Creatinine levels checked after every 15 days
3. Be aware and vigilant of the signs of your body.
4. Do not be scared if there is little fluctuation in levels of creatinine or potassium. Just make sure there are no major jumps in the levels.
5. Always wear mask.
6. While using public washrooms keep a sanitising kit with you.
7. Avoid raw vegetables/salad. Peel the fruit and consume it immediately.
A lot of questions were asked by the attendees, such as -
1. Creatinine levels post cadaveric transplant is 1.5, is it something to worry about?
2. How to reduce weight post transplant?
3. How to manage food during travel?
4. How many glasses of water to consume?
She answered she consumes hot food from good place while she is travelling or she ask someone to bring the home cooked food. As regards to the usage of washroom facilities she replied that she keeps travel kit like portable washroom or sterilized mugs wherever she goes. She shared, she avoids using unhygienic washrooms, and rather she uses stand pee, easily available these days.
This session was conducted on Zoom and also broadcasted live on Facebook and YouTube channels of MOHAN Foundation. There were around 10 participants on Zoom and YouTube had 5 participants. The YouTube video has around 90 views as on date of this report.
MOHAN Foundation thanks SBI Foundation for supporting this initiative. Appreciation and gratitude to Ms. Bharti Ranga for sharing her inspiring story.
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