World Kidney Day: Portsmouth student calls on people to become organ donors after waiting years for new kidney

Third year business and management student Alisha Gokani was told at just seven years old that she had a rare condition meaning her kidneys would fail before she reached her teenage years.

When she began to get seriously ill her selfless mum Manisha donated one of her kidneys without a second thought.

But it wasn’t as simple as that – Alisha, now 23, kept getting infections and her body eventually rejected this kidney at age 19.

Ever since she has had to attend dialysis sessions four times a week.

Alisha, who is originally from Kent, said: ‘Every day is a struggle as I’m faced with complete exhaustion from having treatment four times a week alongside full-time education.

‘I have been told that a living donor from the same ethnicity as me would be the best possible match. As I have had a transplant before my body has created a lot of antibodies which provides extra challenges so I could be waiting a very long time.

‘If a live donor came forward my antibodies can be removed to match the donors just before surgery, everything could be planned and controlled for the best possible outcome.

‘Waiting for a kidney and being on dialysis during the pandemic has also thrown in extra complications making life waiting for a transplant so much harder.’

It comes as more than 4,600 people nationally, including 123 patients in Hampshire, are currently waiting for a kidney transplant, with this figure expected to rise.

According to NHS Blood and Transplant kidney transplants have been the hardest hit area of organ transplantation throughout the pandemic, with deceased donor transplants down 22 per cent and living donor transplants down 60 pent - an overall drop in kidney transplants of 32 per cent in 2020/21, compared to 2019/20.

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This means around 1,100 fewer patients received a kidney transplant in 2020/21, compared to the year before.

Alisha added: ‘Can I please ask people to discuss their organ donation decision with their family?

‘That could be by joining the register to donate their organs after they die or maybe looking to see if living donation is something they could consider. Living donation is a big ask and something that shouldn’t be taken lightly, but I am kindly asking people to read more about organ donation, talk to their family and discuss their decision.’

For more information, or to register your organ donation decision, visit organdonation.nhs.uk or call 0300 123 23 23.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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