Boy, 5, desperate for kidney donor
A 5-YEAR-OLD boy yearns for a normal life, which may only be possible if he finds a suitable donor match for a kidney transplant.
Shreyan Govender, who has a twin sister, was diagnosed at birth with chronic kidney disease.
He started peritoneal dialysis a year ago for seven hours every evening.
This week his mother, Shantal, made an appeal to the public for a kidney donor.
“I have diabetes and I come from a long line of family with diabetes.
“My husband is hypertensive.
“We were unsuccessful, with family and friends, as donors and we thought this would be a better way to get help from potential donors. The response this week has been overwhelming.
“Many just to offer emotional support and some wanting to donate, but cannot because of underlying chronic conditions.
“We want the best for our son, but the donor has to also live a full life afterwards. It has been a long and really tough road.
“Every evening for those seven hours that he is connected for dialysis he is not getting a full night’s sleep like every other 5-year-old. He wakes up frequently as he’s thirsty, needs to use the toilet, is itchy and has sudden pains,” she said.
Govender, of Verulam, said Shreyan was now undergoing tests to be able to get on to the national organ donor list.
Govender said Shreyan is taking many chronic medications which had side effects.
“He has frequent body pains and gets tired. He has to go for renal bloods monthly which has become so traumatic as there is always difficulty in
locating his veins as he’s very little and has a lot of bloods taken.
“He has been in and out of hospital for the past few years, which resulted in loss of quality time with his twin sister, Shreya, and older brother Shaiden.
“He loves riding his bike, listening to music and dancing, but he gets more tired these days,” said Govender.
She said he did not like school because he was so tired after his rough nights and having to wake up early.
“It is difficult, but he tries. He only gets a solid sleep in after he’s disconnected from the machine after 3am, therefore we needed to push forward with a donor.
“Shreyan yearns for a normal life like his siblings.
“During lunch breaks when all the other kids, including his sister, play, he takes a nap in class,” said Govender.
She said when the twins were born they were on the ventilator and faced other medical challenges.
“Shreya was diagnosed with a hole in the heart but that closed on its own and she has been well. However, when Shreyan was about a month old it was discovered that he had under-formed kidneys.
“After numerous tests and opinions from different doctors, his doctor last year finally said he has to have dialysis,” she said.
Dr Dave Thomson, chairperson of the SA Transplant Society, said kidneys dominate the waiting list, as they were the only organ with a long-term support modality (dialysis).
“Patients with other organ failures have a much shorter window on the waiting list, and limited support options that keep them healthy enough to undergo a transplant.”
Thomson said there were about 350 to 400 transplants a year.
“The majority are renal transplants. “About half are from living donors. The rest were from deceased donors.
“We have one of the lowest deceased donation rates in the world.
“All organs are in short supply with many patients dying on the waiting lists.
“This is especially so where there isn’t an option like dialysis. Like for heart, lung and liver,” said Thomson.