When neurosurgeon Arjun Srivatsa suffered kidney failure, his younger brother Anil decided to step-in to help. It was not an easy decision, but Anil has no doubt that he did the right thing by donating his kidney to save his brother’s life.
The two Bengaluru brothers are now on a cycling campaign in Spain to raise awareness about kidney donation and counter the resistance to this life-saving act.
Speaking to NDTV, Anil said, “The experience is one of fulfillment. The fact that I have been able to help his quality of life to continue the way it is. He is a doctor, so in another way, I feel like I have saved his life and he in turn is saving many more. And finally he is my brother, I love him a lot and I wouldn’t do anything other than what I just did.”
To this, Arjun added, “I guess because it was what my brother did for me, I am what how I am today. I am ready to go on a cycling tour.”
The two brothers are cycling through Spain to show how kidney donation does not have to affect the life of the donor or the recipient.
“There is a misconception that life will change, that you can’t get back to your normal routine. So by cycling with the recipient and me being the donor, we would like to show people that things can get back to normal as they were before the surgery and that there is no real impediment to your normal activities. If you were an active person before the surgery, you can continue to be.”
The brothers also said that they hope to see changes in the Indian organ donation laws to make it easier for non-related donors to donate their organs – under a well-regulated law.
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