'My son needs a kidney'

'My son needs a kidney'

By Bhavna Sookha
South Africa

A Durban mother has made an urgent appeal for all South Africans to become organ donors, thereby giving those in need a fighting chance at life.

Mala Naidoo's passionate plea is made on behalf of her 17-year-old son Kuban, who together with hundreds of other ill people, needs a kidney transplant to survive.

Kuban is recuperating in St Augustine's Hospital after he almost died last Wednesday.

"My son has been ill since he was two years old and has been in and out of hospital ever since. He would have been studying for matric this year but has been unable to go to school," she said.

"He needs to be in hospital three times a week to undergo dialysis and it just becomes too tiring for him."

Speaking to the Daily News, just after her son was discharged from the hospital's Intensive Care Unit, Naidoo started crying as she recalled Wednesday night.

"Last week we were woken up just after midnight. Kuban was unconscious and frothing at the mouth."

His blood pressure was extremely high and he was rushed to Umhlanga Hospital where he was stabilised before being transferred to St Augustine's Hospital.

"It was the most terrifying and shocking experience I have ever been through. He could have died and I just thank God that he is doing a bit better," she said. "What he needs now is a kidney transplant because one of his kidneys is operating at 20 percent and the other is totally damaged."

Sitting in his hospital bed Kuban also sent out a plea to all healthy South African's to become donors.

"I've been on the waiting list for an organ for about one-and-a-half years now," he said.

"I can't remember exactly what happened but it must have been scary. I just want to be able to do things normally and not have to worry about my health and dialysis."

He said the importance of organ donation needed to be given more exposure, and that public awareness surrounding the subject needed to be raised.

"There are too many people just waiting for transplants," he said. Every day more critically ill patients are added to the waiting list.

Unfortunately, this is happening faster than organs become available. As a result many patients die each year.

According to the Organ Donor Foundation, statistics show that there were 1 084 organ transplants in 2005.

There were 27 heart, four lung, seven kidney/pancreas, 14 liver and 232 kidney transplants performed countrywide.

Close to 800 people also had their eyesight restored through cornea transplants.

To become an organ donor one can register online at www.odf.org.za or call the foundation's toll free number on 0800 226 611.

An information brochure will then be sent together with a credit card size card to fill in and carry in your wallet. Two small stickers to attach to your identity document and drivers licence will also be sent.

The foundation also advises those who decide they want to be donors to discuss the decision with family members as next of kin have to ultimately give consent for organs to be donated when one dies. - Additional information sourced from www.odf.org.za

URL http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=125&art_id=vn20070601103453888C478291

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