A son has regained his life thanks to a liver donated by his mother. This remarkable event took place in India. Amidst the hushed silence that pervaded the hospital corridor—a moment when everything seemed to stand still—a voice spoke out to a doctor: “Test me; I will donate a portion of my liver to him.” That individual was Renu Khanna. The 37-year-old woman looked on with a gaze that held both apprehension and steely determination. Her 17-year-old son, Arman—a high school student—was counting his final moments as his liver had suffered complete failure. When the liver fails, there is very little time left; his family did not even have a full week to deliberate. The doctors, too, had informed them that they had only one to two days remaining. It was in this critical situation that Renu stepped forward. Arman’s condition was deteriorating rapidly. For a 17-year-old, liver failure is by no means a common occurrence. Arman sat with his mother at Apollo Hospital in Navi Mumbai. His mother resolved that she would not let her child slip away without a fight. Liver failure leads to severe complications in the digestive system.
In such cases, only one option remains to save the patient: a liver transplant. In India, the rate of posthumous organ donation is extremely low; therefore, the liver had to be sourced from a living donor. Faced with her son’s dire condition, the mother stepped forward without a moment’s hesitation. Within 24 hours, she underwent a comprehensive evaluation—including blood typing, liver volume assessment, and a complete health check-up.
The medical team at Apollo Hospital, Navi Mumbai, constituted a board for the liver transplant procedure, led by Dr. Guruprasad Shetty. Through a flawless surgical operation, they removed Arman’s failing liver and replaced it with the segment harvested from his mother. This story was reported by the online edition of The Times of India. The liver is the only organ in the human body capable of regeneration. Both mother and son made a full recovery within a month, and the livers in both individuals resumed functioning normally. Renu does not claim to be a “brave mother”; she admits she was terrified, yet that fear could not deter her from saving her child’s life. Renu expressed her deep gratitude to the doctors for successfully completing the surgery.
She stated, “The doctors at Apollo Hospital left absolutely no stone unturned in their efforts to save my child.” The fact that my son is alive is the most important thing.
