Need A Kidney? \'Try Me\'

Source : Kutlwano

Author : Ludo Chube

Location : Gaborone

Event : Interview

It is not every day that you come across someone who wants to donate one of their organs. Instead the stories we read are those of desperate individuals who are looking for a donor. That is why Nonofo Asekeng’s story is peculiar

Twenty three-year old Asekeng is looking for a recipient of his kidney.  Asekeng has even gone on national television and announced that he wants to donate one of his kidneys to someone who is desperately looking for one. That’s surreal, you might say, but believe you me; this young man says he is for real. Asekeng was going around trying to find a recipient when Btv morning show producers got wind of his campaign. They invited him to the show. “The idea was for them to help me identify a recipient,” he says. Asekeng says he made the decision to donate a kidney in 2010, but has been baffled by how difficult it can be to find a recipient.

Only last year he identified a potential recipient through the help of friends. They made all the necessary arrangements for the operation. However, after undergoing preliminary tests and preparing for the family to meet the Asekeng family, the patient suddenly took ill. It was too late. The recipient lost the battle to kidney failure, shattering Asekeng’s dream to make good on his promise and desire to save life as an organ donor.

Asekeng is a giver, and feels incomplete not giving. Throughout his life he has been involved with various charities. This, he says will be his biggest charitable undertaking. “I had nothing else to give. I don’t have much money so I thought to myself, why don’t I donate one of my kidneys? It was the least I could do,” he says. Needless to say, his decision was met with much disapproval from his family.

“My mother was shocked. Even to this day she is still shocked. She still does not understand why I would risk my life this way but she has since pledged her support.”   Some of his family members still disapprove of the decision but Asekeng says he has made up his mind and is going ahead with it. Not that it was an easy decision for him. “Initially I worried a lot about the ‘what ifs?’ What if the surgery developed complications? What if I didn’t wake up? I had a lot of what ‘ifs.” Eventually, though he overcame the fear.

Asekeng hopes that his appearance on Btv will help him find a recipient. Lately he has been trying unsuccessfully to reach out to a potential recipient in Kanye. Asekeng has set standards and expectations for the potential recipient: “I would love to donate my kidney to someone young, someone who has something to live for, and someone who will appreciate and take good care of that kidney. That is not to say I am excluding older people, as long as they are willing to treasure the kidney, they are also eligible.”

But why is Asekeng taking such a risk, you ask.  “I want to save a life, even if it is just one life,” he quips. He also wants to stir debate about organ donation. Asekeng plans on visiting hospitals and clinics to identify a potential recipient. The young man is not afraid that the one remaining kidney might one day malfunction.  That is because doctors have assured him that they will run thorough examinations and assessments to ensure that he is healthy enough to survive on one kidney.

No, he is not suicidal, he says. He is looking forward to life like any young person. That is why he is currently interning at Mabutsane Sub-district Council where he hopes to gain experience as an environmental health officer. He is also pursuing a course in human resource management to augment his degree in environmental science. Asekeng’s kidney comes at no cost and no strings attached, except that the recipient must take care of it. He remains one of very few such donors.

Perhaps Asekeng’s sacrifice will motivate other people to donate their organs. This is especially important considering that there is an acute shortage of organs around the world. In fact the World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported that human organ demand far outstrips supply in almost every country of the world, with the waiting period extending to several years in many countries. “In Germany for example, waiting time for a kidney is about six years. So that says how far we are away from the demand,” medical director of the German government agency for the procurement of organs, Dr Günter Kirste, is quoted as saying. Kidney transplants are the most frequent form of transplantation globally. However, other organs can also be transplanted: the cornea, heart, liver, lung, pancreas, and small intestine, says the WHO in its website. ENDS

Teaser:

“I had nothing else to give. I don’t have much money so I thought to myself, why don’t I donate one of my kidneys? It was the least I could do.”