Simple 'relief' after transplant

Simple 'relief' after transplant

SINGAPORE - Early this year, Madam Tan Kien Tin received a kidney from a deceased donor who was above 60 years old, and had hypertension.

A day after the operation, she produced urine, something that the 65-year-old had not done in over 10 years.

Such a simple act was something she hardly dared imagine after her disappointment a few years ago, when a potential donor failed to become a successful match.

"I tried not to think about it, but I never gave up hoping for a transplant," said the part-time counter sales service officer.

For the past 13 years, she had been visiting the dialysis centre three times a week, four hours each time. Sometimes, she would suffer side effects such as vomiting and headaches.

But it was the cramps she found most unbearable.

Her trips outside Singapore were limited to a maximum of five to seven days, because of the high cost of dialysis outside of Singapore.

With the new kidney, she is now looking forward to not having to plan her schedule and her family's around her dialysis.

Said Madam Tan: "Now I feel more energetic, and shortly after the operation, I could even start looking after my grandson and do the household chores."


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