24 Year Old Daughter Saves Her Father's Life By Donating A Kidney

Heena Tabiyar is a 24-year-old girl from Banswara, Ahmedabad who is being hailed for her selflessness and courage. She saved her father's life with a brave and selfless act.

Task of Courage

On June 14 - three days before Father's Day, Heena donated her kidney to her father Mohan Lal, 49, in a laparoscopic procedure. Currently, both father and daughter are recovering in the local SAL Hospital.

"A young daughter donating kidney to her father is rare, accounting less than 2% of the total donations," Dr Himanshu Shah

Doctors say it is rare for an unmarried girl donating her organ to save the father. "A young daughter donating kidney to her father is rare, accounting less than 2% of the total donations," says Lal's transplant surgeon Dr Himanshu Shah who performed the transplant with Dr Sharad Dodiya and other team members.

"Worrying that donating organ may mar a girl's marital prospects deters most families. In Lal's case, Heena was adamant to give her kidney after her 22-year old younger brother did not prove a match while she tested a perfect donor," he added.

Setting an Example

Heena has recently completed Basic School Teaching Certificate (BSTC) and wants to pursue teaching as a career choice.  She says that she feels like the luckiest girl in the world who could help save her dad's life.

"My father has raised me like a friend. Despite us coming from a conservative, middle class family, my father fulfilled my wish and sent me to boarding for higher studies. He takes my opinion in every important family matter. In this case, I prevailed as the elder daughter and I feel proud and luckiest girl in the world," Heena said. Heena states that she is not fazed if only having one kidney will hamper her marriage prospects.

"A man who views my donating kidney to my father as a problem and not virtue would not qualify to be a good life partner anyways," says Heena proudly.

Experts believe  more and more girls need to be encouraged as such cases are rare, few and far between. "In our entire transplant programme, 28 girls have donated kidneys-- 14 to fathers. Of these, only two were unmarried," states Sujata Rajapurkar, transplant coordinator at Mulji Patel Urological Hospital (MPUH), Nadiad.

Picture credit: Daily Hunt

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Apoorva Lamba is an intern with SheThePeople.Tv