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I paid a farmer for his kidney
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| Nizarali Kanji |
A solicitor from Oxford paid a stranger £7,000 for a kidney rather than facing years on the transplant waiting list.
Nizarali Kanji, 66, from Sadler Walk, in Oxford, travelled to Pakistan in search of a new kidney after learning he faced an uncertain wait in Oxfordshire.
He said: "I had been on the UK waiting list for two years and was on dialysis. I was very ill.
"I knew of other people who had been on the waiting list for seven years.
"I also knew that as an Asian, my chances of there being a suitable match were reduced even further.
"I feared my chance may never come."
Asian people are at least three times more likely to need a kidney transplant than the rest of the population.
But while 10 per cent of Oxford's new kidney patients last year were Asian, few donated organs come from the Asian community.
Mr Kanji said: "After a year of waiting, I got a call telling me a kidney had become available - but it turned out to be an unsuitable match and I came home from the hospital bitterly disappointed.
"Then my extended family in Pakistan invited me to visit in the hope one of them would be a match as a live donor."
Unfortunately, none of them were a match. But while he was there, he heard from Masood Hospital, in Lahore, that they could get him a kidney.
Mr Kanji said he had concerns about the competency of the doctors and the cleanliness of the hospitals in Pakistan
But he added: "I talked to another man who had a transplant there and he told me I had nothing to fear."
Mr Kanji extended his trip by three weeks while the hospital searched for an organ.
The hospital charged him £7,000 and a meeting was arranged with the donor.
He said: "The donor requested to meet me. He was a man in his 30s, a farmer and probably quite poor.
"It seemed to be a religious act for him - he was polite, gentle and wished to help me.
"I hugged him and he told me he was glad that my life would be improved because of him."
Within days, Mr Kanji went under the knife and a week after the operation he was on his way home.
Selling organs is illegal in the UK, but Mr Kanji said: "As a former solicitor, I am aware of the moral, ethical and legal arguments around what I did but none of it weighed heavily with me.
"That £7,000 has given me a new life, but above all hope for the future.
"Physically, I am stronger since the transplant - although the last two years have been a slow recovery."
In September 2007, new rules were introduced in Pakistan to regulate organ transplants - but few in the country believe the decree will stop the country's flourishing trade in human kidneys.
Mr Kanji said: "I do not regret what I did, I believe individuals should have the choice about selling their own organs."
Dr Christopher Winearls is the clinical director of the Oxford Kidney Unit.
He said: "About 10 per cent of the 160 new patients we took on last year for kidney treatment were from minority groups.
"Sadly, kidney disease is more common in our ethnic minority populations.
"Unfortunately these patients face two major obstacles to receiving a kidney transplant - a shortage of donors and difficulties in matching tissue types and blood groups.
"This usually means they need to endure a longer time on dialysis.
"Some of our patients go overseas and pay a donor to give them a kidney rather than waiting for an organ to become available here - we have had desperate patients go to Pakistan and Iran for treatment.
"Some are successful, but some patients come back very ill and we have had a difficult time rescuing them from the life-threatening complications they have suffered."
The Oxford Mail is running a campaign to encourage more people to sign the Organ Donor Register.
For more details about organ donation call 0845 606 0400 or visit the website www.uktransplant.org.uk
6:18am Thursday 10th April 2008
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CommentPosted by: Roger, Oxford on 2:23pm Thu 10 Apr 08
This is another example of a sensationalist headline. Although it is strictly true, it gives the impression of a citizen wandering off towards Banbury, getting Farmer Giles drunk, and offering him a few quid . This is not exactly what happened.
This is another example of a sensationalist headline. Although it is strictly true, it gives the impression of a citizen wandering off towards Banbury, getting Farmer Giles drunk, and offering him a few quid . This is not exactly what happened.
Posted by: Floyd on Asia, Cowley Road on 2:46pm Thu 10 Apr 08
Come on Shilpa get the Onions cooking!
Come on Shilpa get the Onions cooking!
Posted by: Steve, oxford on 6:05pm Thu 10 Apr 08
Is this legal??
Posted by: g, didcot on 10:49pm Thu 10 Apr 08
How dare you!! How much was the 'farmer' paid - is he ok? = do you care - my father was a dialysis patient for over 20 years (from the age of 42)and although he could have bought a kidney (we were all tested and couldnt donate) he didnt - shame on you - buying the kidney
How dare you!! How much was the 'farmer' paid - is he ok? = do you care - my father was a dialysis patient for over 20 years (from the age of 42)and although he could have bought a kidney (we were all tested and couldnt donate) he didnt - shame on you - buying the kidney
Posted by: Floyd on Drugs on 12:39am Fri 11 Apr 08
Blibble blabble goldfish.
Blibble blabble goldfish.
Posted by: Pete, Oxford on 9:19pm Fri 11 Apr 08
He has earned his money, why shouldn't he spend it as he likes.
He has earned his money, why shouldn't he spend it as he likes.
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