They share the bond of life

They share the bond of life

10 Feb 2008, 0039 hrs IST,Ketan Tanna,TNN

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MUMBAI: He cut an unusual figure at Kevinda Borges’s wedding reception at the Raghuleela Mall, Kandivli, on December 29. With a mask on his face, 40-year-old Ashwin Saraiya was conspicuous as he made his way to greet the bridal couple along with his five-year-son Keyur and wife Parul.

Kevinda's brother-in-law, Rajesh, greeted Ashwin and took him to the stage where the bride, her mother, sister, uncles and other relatives were standing. For a couple of moments, they seemed stunned to see Saraiya. They knew he was coming, but didn't know how he looked. This, despite the fact that Ashwin had received a new life because of a kidney donated by Kevinda's late father, Sylvester.

Under rules laid down by the Transplantation Act, the recipient and donor are not supposed to have any contact but here was Saraiya attending the wedding reception of the son of a man who had donated his kidney to him in Diwali, 2007.

Words started falling short and emotions went out of control. Kevinda and sister Shirley could not contain their tears. Their mother Philomena, too, was emotional. Then Aswhin broke down. "I tried to appear composed, but their tears moved me and I broke down too," recalls Saraiya.

On November 9, 2007, Ashwin received the kidney from a rank stranger, Malad resident Sylvester Borges, a body-builder of sorts, who was loved by his neighbourhood. Five days before, Borges had collapsed during his regular exercise routine. He was moved to Bombay Hospital after an haemorrhage was detected in his brain. Sylvester Borges did not recover after surgery and his family decided to donate his kidneys and eyes.

That is when destiny intervened for Saraiya, who had been waiting for a transplant for three years after both his kidneys failed in 2004 due to, what he says, was stress and a killer work schedule. His three brothers and a sister could not give him a kidney due to discordant blood group: his blood group was O +ve while the others were either B+ or AB groups. He then enrolled himself into the Zonal Transplant Coordination Centre's waiting list.

When his phone rang late one evening on November 8, 2007, it was Bombay Hospital wanting to know whether he was interested in a cadaver kidney. And, more important, did he have Rs 7 lakh? Saraiya, who is an accountant, replied in the affirmative.

Saraiya, who was in Mulund at that time, rushed to his Borivli flat and asked friends to help him. Fortunately, his best friend had some cash and the duo rushed to the hospital way past midnight. A battery of tests followed and the next morning he was operated on.

Later, when his wife, Parul, came to pay her bills at the cash counter, by providence Rajesh, Shirley's husband, too, had come to settle the bills for his father-in-law. Parul was having a problem with the bundle of notes and Rajesh volunteered to help her: that is when they discovered the connection and then exchanged numbers.

The entire Borges family was keen that the recipients of the two kidneys donated by Sylvester should attend Kevinda's reception. "We wanted to be blessed by our father and we knew that the very presence of these recipients would do the honour for us," says Shirley. The other kidney recipient, Thane resident Motilal Shah, could not make it due to his fragile health.

But Saraiya did and, for the Borges family, it was their biggest gift. The bride mentioned Ashwin in the message she read out to the guests. There were moist eyes all around and Aswhin even danced (slowly though) at the reception. "It was a rare sight. A masked Gujarati gentleman, dancing to western music at the wedding reception of my sister," says Shirley.

Ashwin is slowly getting back to normal. He has started travelling by train and also on his scooter. Medicines are still expensive but in a few months, he can reduce the dosage.

The recently unearthed kidney scam has made Ashwin angry. "Greed makes doctors pocket lakhs of rupees and the donor gets a measly sum. Until organ donation is allowed under strict rules, illegal organ trading will go on," he says. He is also riled by the hesitation in all religions in donating organs. "If the soul is indestructible, why is there hesitation in donating organs? Why do we prefer to burn our bodies instead of giving a new lease of life to the needy?"

ketan.tanna@timesgroup.com

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/They_share_the_bond_of_life/articleshow/2770223.cms