My kidney has won! Anil Srivatsa said that wacky line, one that certainly struck a funny note elsewhere, but not in New Castle that day. He could only expect smiling approval from every direction. In the game that sparked off-the-wall festivities, each participant was one of two things – either an organ donor or a recipient.
When his neurosurgeon-brother Dr Arjun Srivatsa (now 56) won a gold medal in a golf tournament at the World Transplant Games (WTG) in New Castle in 2019 – Anil (now 55) penned those words to celebrate his brother’s victory removed from your heart. When Anil received his own gold from the cricket ball throwing event, Anil shouted again without any pre-contemplation: “Hey, both my kidneys have won!”
On a superficial level, those exclamations underscored the bond between giver and recipient. At a deeper level, it is about the resilience of both body and mind that enables recipients and donors to live life to its fullest after transplant. WTG focuses on celebrating this resilience and also dispels myths and fears about organ donation.
Anil-Arjun’s experience is one of those stories which takes the positive narrative forward.
One of Anil’s kidneys was “transplanted” into his brother’s body in 2014. Anil noted that he was unaware of WTG until years after the transplant. Otherwise, he would have channeled it into the one purpose it has now: to demonstrate that a kidney donor need not lead a restricted life. One of the founders of Rotary Club of Organ Donation (a floating, virtual, cause-based club created by Rotary Club of Madras from Rotary District 3232), Anil coincidentally would be completing a demanding world tour on four wheels, Organ Donation Regular Rotary Clubs around the world at WTG 2023 in Perth in April.
“My brother and I had surgery in September 2014, and before that, I was aware that he might need a[kidney transplant]because he told me, but I didn’t know how soon will. Sometime in 2012 he told me, ‘I need it now!’, and that’s when I started to panic. I had no doubt I’d give it to him, but it was still scary. My little kids and a crazy The wife was. And I was into the outdoors and sports and motoring adventures involved, and I was thinking: ‘If I do this will it all stop?’ I was beginning to second guess my decision and then I was asking her: ‘Have you put yourself on a waiting list, or multiple waiting lists, waiting for a deceased donor instead of coming to me first? doing?’ At some point, I realized how selfish I was trying to be. Here I was, secretly wishing for someone’s death for my brother, so that my life could be unaffected.
Aware of the dilemma plaguing Anil, the doctor in charge of the planned transplant placed him with a donor, and this cleared the cobwebs of doubt and infused enough confidence to go ahead with his original decision. By the time Anil recovered from post-surgery pain – he used the open-cut method as opposed to the laparoscopic method that is common today, and recovery took a little longer – he won an online contest and was rewarded Gaya required a ticket for two to Spain as well as a self-guided bicycle tour that would take in that country’s rugged mountain ranges. The award however came with a validity period: it would be null and void after March 2015, that is, for the sixth month after the transplant surgery for Anil and Arjun.
“I asked my brother, ‘Listen, would you like to go with me? Six months after the transplant we can show the world has returned within six months. It was a 290 kilometer trip and they did it.
Anil’s preparation for the WTG 2019, where he has signed up for the 100m sprint and cricket-ball throw events, was elaborate. Arjuna award winning former athlete Reeth Abraham was Anil’s coach.
As luck would have it, Anil suffered a slipped disc during training. It was June 2019, and injury threatened to rule him out of the WTG in New Castle slate for August.
“I had to stop training; And I had to recover. I was on bed rest for a whole month. I was bracing myself to be fit, because it was not a good sign if I was trying to prove that one can be as fit as one wants to be after a transplant. I can’t live with a back problem, because it can be attributed to the kidneys.” And the rest, as they say, is history. Both siblings will be at WTG 2023 (April 15-21) in Perth to defend their titles.
India and WTG
The World Transplant Games (WTG) is a biennial event run by the United Kingdom-based World Transplant Games Federation with the support of member-organisations from each country.
There are individuals classified under six or seven forms of transplant who qualify for participation in the WTG, but most participants fall under the kidney-transplant classification, says Shankar Arora of Organ India (a member-organization with the WTG Federation). Are. As manager of the Indian contingent participating in the WTG 2023 (April 15-21) in Perth.
WTG is primarily intended for individuals living with life-sustaining organs received; and is extended to organ donors.
Organ recipients get a chance to compete in age-specific classes in their respective categories; But donors do cater in open categories. The last WTG was held in 2019, and was put on hold in 2021 due to the pandemic.
“Since 2011, teams from India have been going to the WTG,” says Shankar. He said that in earlier editions, the size of the Indian contingent was very small with only two or three athletes. In relative terms, the contingent for the WTG in New Castle swelled in 2019, when 14 athletes from India participated.
“This time, we are expecting participation from India in the range of 25 to 30 athletes.”
Shankar revealed that over a hundred people expressed interest, but a large majority of them dropped the idea – as it does every time – due to prior work and finance commitments. The overall cost of participation, including travel and lodging, would be high, forcing many to reconsider their decision.
“We have raised some funds, but now it is enough to take everyone along,” says Shankar.
Individually, participants find sponsors to fund their way to WTG.