With six people in the UK dying every week whilst waiting for a kidney transplant, a woman from Wembley who donated one of her kidneys to her chronically ill mum is sharing her story for the first time to inspire more people to consider living donation.
Dishna Hirani donated a kidney on her mum’s birthday in order to save her from a life on grueling dialysis treatment – a process which removes waste from the blood when your kidneys are not able to.
In her words, “A lot of people don’t realise just how draining and debilitating that can be. It’s essentially a type of life support machine that your veins have to be connected up to several times a week.”
Dishna’s inspiring act also helped to challenge the stigmas around organ donation in their Hindu community.
“Our faith tells us that we should be giving and charitable, including donating blood if we’re able, but when it comes to organs people have a lot of opinions. Mum is so proud of her kidney now. Before the operation happened there were a lot of worries… but now that it’s done she tells everyone! She wants people to be more aware of living kidney donation and realise that it’s not a bad thing at all, it doesn’t deserve the stigma.”
NHS statistics show more than 6,000 people are on the waiting list for a kidney transplant in the UK, and six people die each week whilst waiting.
A recent poll carried out for the Make Your Mark campaign, which encourages more people to consider being a living donor, revealed 55% of UK adults would consider donating a kidney to a family member, while over one in seven (13%) would consider donating a kidney to a stranger. If these people were to come forward to donate, they would not only save lives but also save the NHS money compared to expensive and life-limiting dialysis treatment, as shown in a report released by Kidney Research UK in 2023.
Dishna is sharing her experiences in support of the campaign, which is being delivered by the Robert Dangoor Partnership for Living Kidney Donation, which aims to raise awareness of living kidney donation and offer support for people considering donating. More information can be found at www.donateakidney.co.uk.
