Humanity shines again, Hindu Muslim women swap kidneys to save husband’s lives.

Photo Courtesy : Times of India

As India continues to reel under the disastrous effects of COVID-19 on its social fabric, a humanitarian story from Uttarakhand's Dehradun is warming the hearts of people across the nation.

In a great turn of events, a Muslim woman and a Hindu woman donated kidneys to save the lives of each other's spouses. Vikas Uniyal, a 50 year old resident of Dehradun, had been on Hemodialysis for 2 years due to Renal failure. At the same time, 50 year old Ashraf Ali too was going through the same plight.  Over their 2 year old ordeal, the wives too tested to see if they were a match for their respective husbands, but unfortunately results did not pan out as expected. Running from pillar to post, the women even approached their extended family for a positive donor match, in a bid to save their husband’s lives. 

This taxing process took a lot of time, but to no avail. Expensive dialysis too added to the financial burden of the family. With the expenses mounting for both the resource-scarce families, the doctors at Himalayan Hospital in Dehradun took a radical approach. 

The doctors wanted to minimize the recurring cost of dialysis through surgery, to stop these families from stretching thin. “Both men’s wives were willing to donate kidneys for their husbands but their blood groups were not matching. It so happened that Vikas Uniyal’s wife Sushma’s blood group matched Ashraf Ali’s, and Ali’s wife Sultana’s blood group matched Uniyal’s,” Dr Shahbaz Ahmed, senior nephrologist at the hospital, told The Times of India. Vikas Uniyal's wife Sushma and Ashraf Ali's wife Sultana both consented to the procedure in a heartbeat and the kidney swap was successfully performed. Both the patients are in recovery thanks to the fortunate coincidence that saved their lives.

The story of these Hindu-Muslim women donating their kidneys has won the heart of people across the country. While the world battles with the economic and social repercussions of COVID-19, this beautiful act of kindness by these two women has set an example of communal kinship that is the bedrock of the Indian constitution.