20-year-old, crippled since birth, lives new life

Kolkata: City youth Md Tarvez (20), an aspiring singer who was clinging to life with failed kidneys that forced him to undergo regular dialysis, is now back on stage after a successful transplant five years ago, and could be joining a law college soon. The transplant was carried out at Charnock Hospital in 2021. A cadaver kidney taken from a brain dead woman has now transformed Tarvez into a sprightly youngster raring to go from an almost crippled teen. He has started doing all that he missed out on as a child due to his organ failure. He has not only resumed studies but is also on the cusp of a singing career. He has performed at several stage shows over the last few months and sat for his higher secondary exam this year.Tarvez underwent the transplant when he was 15. "I have grown up mostly confined to bed and watched from a distance as my friends played and ran around. Due to regular dialyses, I had to stay indoors, ensure that I was not out in the sun or got drenched in rain. Everything changed when my father got a call from Charnock Hospital informing him that a cadaver kidney was available for transplant. After a successful transplant, I spent a month in the hospital and have been steadily improving, doing everything that I always wanted to," said Tarvez. "It was difficult for my parents since I was diagnosed with kidney failure when I was a month old. I struggled to study, often missed school and could hardly ever play. I had my first dialysis when I was in class 5 and ever since, I had it regularly till the transplant. I wanted to play with my friends but felt weak. But my life has taken a new turn over the last five years. Singing has been my passion and it kept me going. I have performed on stage occasionally and would like to pursue it now. But my dream is to become a lawyer," he said.The call from the hospital came on July 9, 2021. The Charnock Nephrology Team was informed at midnight that a 38-year-old woman had been declared brain dead after a road accident and was admitted to Ruby General Hospital. "We knew Tarvez had been on haemodialysis for the past few years and his family was informed and asked to get him admitted that very night, and the necessary procedures were initiated," said a Charnock spokesperson.After completion of all formalities, a clinical team was sent to Ruby Hospital. The donated kidney was brought to Charnock Hospital through a ‘green corridor'. The other was sent to SSKM Hospital."We took him to the hospital and were directed to the OT, where consultant urologist and renal transplant expert Mohan Chand Seal and Ranjan Dey conducted the transplant," said Tarvez's father Md Parvez. The surgeons were assisted by nephrologists Jayanta Dutta and Piyali Sarkar. The transplant took two-and-a-half hours.