70% kidney donors in Ahmedabad are mothers

"You don't have to deserve your mother's love. You have to deserve your father's," said Robert Frost. The American poet's statement — a telling comment on the unconditional love offered by moms — is something that transplant surgeons in the city would vouch for.

According to them, over 70% of the live donors in kidney transplant cases happen to be mothers. "It is a trend we have been observing for long. Invariably, in case of a kidney transplant, it is the mother who volunteers to donate her kidney," said Dr HL Trivedi, director of the Institute of Kidney Disease and Research. In the last two years, the institute has carried out close to 500 transplants. Of these, in 60% of the cases, the kidney was donated by a parent. Of this, 70% of the donations come from mothers.

Dr Trivedi, who has been involved in several kidney transplants, said it could be because of the maternal instinct or the fact that we are programmed to run to our mothers for help when in trouble. "As doctors we talk to the entire family of a patient to assess who could be the possible donors.  The parents of a patient will have 50% match. But we have seen that it is often the mothers who come forward willingly to donate their kidneys. It is also far easier to convince a mother than anyone else," said Dr Trivedi. Incidentally, he said the second largest live donors among relatives happen to be wives.

"I would put fathers at the third position," said Dr Trivedi.  His observation was endorsed by another renal surgeon who did not wish to be identified.  "Yes, almost 70% of the live donors in kidney transplantation cases happen to be mothers. I am yet to come across a case where a mother has shown the slightest hesitation in giving her kidney to her child," said the doctor who has seen close to 400 kidney transplantations.

He said the fact that we live in a male-dominated society could also be the reason why fathers are not the first to volunteer. Bhavna Chhabara, CEO of Shatayu, an organisation that helps create awareness about organ donation said it could be because in our society women are expected to make sacrifices. 

"We mostly deal in cadaver donations but of the live donations that we have helped, it is indeed the mother who comes forward to donate her organ," said Chhabara.