The organ transplant sport stars winning medals for India

The strap has been updated with the medal wins. The rest of the story, published on April 12, 2023, remains unchangedOn December 5, 2015, Karhun Nanda’s life took a dramatic turn. Forty-two years old at the time, Nanda, a state-level football player who lives in Delhi, had just returned home from a three-hour game of football when he felt an intense pain in the abdomen. “I initially thought it was a case of bad acid reflux. But soon the pain became so bad that I couldn’t get up,” he says. Nanda says he suffered eight heart attacks on the way to hospital and even “flatlined” for a few minutes; fortunately doctors were able to revive him. He was diagnosed with a blood clot in his aorta, leading to a condition called ventricular tachycardia. A stent was put into his aorta to treat it.But his heart wasn’t able to cope, and six months later he was told he had third-stage congestive heart failure. Nanda recalls, “I had gone to hospital for a regular checkup when the doctor said he needed to speak to my wife alone. He told her my heart would survive a maximum of six months. A transplant was my only option.”That was eight years ago. After battling life-threatening odds and undergoing a heart transplant, Nanda, now 50, is leading a 30-member Indian contingent at the little-known World Transplant Games 2023, which brings together organ transplant recipients and donors from around the world. medium99435263Being held in Perth, Australia, from April 15-21, the aim of the games is to spread awareness about organ donation and to demonstrate how fitness can be achieved even after a transplant.With football ruled out because it is a high-cardio sport, Nanda is competing in the golf event. Thirty-seven year old Digvijay Singh Gujral’s story is equally inspiring. Hailing from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Gujral was born with a single working kidney. “But that too wasn’t functioning properly due to a condition called hydronephrosis, which is a blockage in the kidney,” he says.After undergoing a surgery (not the transplant) when he was one, the next two decades went by smoothly. It was when he turned 21, that health issues started emerging. He was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease and told he needed a kidney transplant.On March 4, 2011, Gujral underwent the surgery. In 2019, he participated in the World Transplant Games in the UK where he won a silver medal in squash. This time he is gunning for gold. medium99435404Battling life-threatening oddsBack in 2015, Nanda says, when he flatlined (heart’s electrical system fails), he was lucky he was in hospital and could be revived within the 5-10 minute window. Beyond that, a patient is declared brain dead.The same day, he suffered eight more heart attacks while being shifted to a larger hospital but was resuscitated each time. After an emergency stent surgery, Nanda was put on life support. He even went into a coma for a week. Left with no option, Nanda’s name was put on the transplant list. He and his wife soon shifted to Chennai, which back then had hospitals better equipped to handle the surgery.He did not have to wait long for a donor. “Some transplant patients have to wait years. I moved to Chennai in August 2016. My surgery took place on November 2, 2016,” he says.Still, those were an emotional few months. Nanda recalls, “Diwali that year was on October 30. My two children, in-laws and father flew into Chennai to be with me. At that stage, every moment spent together felt important.” On November 1, he decided to write his will. “I was crying the entire time I was writing.”The next day, he got the call – a potential donor had been found. By then, Nanda says, “my condition was so bad, I couldn’t even lie straight, because my heart wasn’t able to pump blood. I had to sit and sleep.” medium99435535For Gujral, it was while he was in Mumbai for his post-graduation that his health issues became concerning. “I found it difficult to even climb the stairs. Because of the dietary restrictions, I experienced muscle loss and was very weak. In December 2010, I started undergoing dialysis.”Gujral says doctors urged him to find a donor fast since time was running out. “I could have easily succumbed to the challenges then; instead I chose to remain optimistic. I had read a book called The Secret, which helped me stay positive.” “Fortunately an uncle came forward just in time and agreed to donate his kidney,” he says. medium99435681The “miraculous” recoveriesNanda calls his recovery “nothing short of a miracle” and attributes it to his fitness levels. “The first week after my transplant, I was already walking one flight of stairs up and down. Even the doctors and nurses were surprised,” he says. Gujral’s recovery was equally quick. “I was told by doctors it takes at least two weeks of recovery in the hospital. But thanks to my faith in myself and God, I was out on the seventh day,” he says.Both Nanda and Gujral emphasise that their quality of life has in no way suffered following the transplant. Nanda says, “I am on immunosuppressant medication, but overall, I am doing everything a healthy person is doing. I travel, dance, play sports. I am addicted to golf. Coming from the days when I was wheelchair-bound to where I am today, it’s a miracle.”Gujral also says he is living a much better life. What’s really driving him, though, is his love for exercise. “Defying the odds, I believe I am one of the fittest transplant patients in the world today,” says Gujral, who is bench-pressing up to 162kg and leg-pressing 563kg at the gym.What’s greater than saving a life?Nanda doesn’t know much about his donor except that he was a 26-year-old deceased male. “Prior to the transplant it was like I had been given a death sentence. He [the donor] is my god, his heart has given me life,” he says. medium nocaption99435760Nanda says one donor can save up to eight lives. Sadly, India’s organ donation rate is one of the lowest in the world at 0.86 per million, according to the NGO, Organ Receiving and Giving Network India (ORGAN India). Compare that with 31.96 per million in the US and 46.9 per million in Spain.Nanda adds, “Religious beliefs are one of the reasons. That’s why educating people about organ donation is so important. After all, there’s no bigger religion than the religion of humanity. What better legacy to leave behind than to save another person’s life.”In Gujral’s case, he received the kidney from a living donor – his uncle – who is doing well. “There can be nothing greater than saving a life,” he echoes emphatically. (Times of India is running a campaign – Times Organ Donation Drive – promoting organ donation)Where’s the government?Another participant is 43-year-old Balveer Singh, who underwent a kidney transplant in 2011. He has won two gold medals and one silver in the past three editions of the games. Yet, Singh, who holds a government job and has struggled to put together the finances, has received no government support. “I am winning medals for the country, yet I have received no recognition from the government,” he says. medium99435874For Nanda and Gujral too, competing in the games is an opportunity to make the country proud. “For any sportsperson, there is nothing better than representing your country on the world stage,” Nanda says.But despite being endorsed by the International Olympic Committee, the Indian government has not stepped forward. Gujral says, “These are the third-most important games on the global stage – after the Olympics and the Paralympics. Countries like the UK, US, Australia and China are sending contingents numbering in the hundreds. The quality of the participants is extremely high. Government support is the need of the hour for better results.”In India, it is only thanks to the efforts of ORGAN India and its sponsors, as well as the athletes themselves, many of whom are funding their own travel and expenses, that a continent is heading for the games. At an event last month, Anika Parashar, founder-chairperson of ORGAN India, highlighted the lack of government support for athletes who have undergone transplants. medium99436191But despite the challenges, Nanda, Singh and Gujral have their eyes set on a medal. Gujral says, “I won a silver in 2019. In 2023, I am determined to win gold.” Nanda also fancies his chances. “I missed out on a medal in 2019, this time I hope to do better.”The country is rooting for these bravehearts.