Murder convict donates kidney to mother in Pune

He may be a murder convict serving his sentence in prison. But he is not stone-hearted. Sani, alias Aakash Hemraj Nelkhade, 30, has touched many hearts and won respect by donating one of his kidneys to his 51-year-old mother, Lata, whose only hope for survival was a transplant.

Authorities at the KEM Hospital, which carried out the 5-hour-long transplant surgery on Wednesday, said both are recuperating well.

This unusual kidney transplant was facilitated by the Bombay high court after Aakash appealed for permission to the court on January 27. His request that he be allowed to donate a kidney to his mother was granted, and he was released on bail in February for three months for the operation.

It was last June that Aakash’s mother, who lives in a one-room tenement in the Juna Bazaar slum, had been detected with acute kidney failure. A kidney transplant was her only chance for survival.

Speaking to DNA, Aakash’s sister, Reena Khalde said, “It was on February 11 that my brother came out from the jail and medical tests such as blood cross-match and sonography began. Fortunately all tests were positive and he was admitted to the hospital for the transplant in March.”

Railways, where Lata’s husband Hemraj works, covered some of the medical expenses, apart from contributions from his colleagues, neighbours and a local corporator, Laxman Arde.

Speaking to DNA in the hospital after the successful surgery, Aakash said, “My mother has undergone enormous physical and emotional pain and it is my duty to save her life.

“Whenever we discussed the possibility of a kidney transplant my mother would weep and refuse to undergo an operation. She agreed after we convinced her.”

Scared of the surgery initially, Aakash held faith in god and went ahead. He is happy that the transplant operation was successful.

The murder convict, who was arrested and charged with murdering a friend’s servant, about two years ago, feels good about his humane act. “I have won the respect of my jailmates, police and society. They were very encouraging and gave me moral support saying not to panic during the operation,” he said.
Sentenced to a jail term of 14 years, Aakash is hopeful of his future and says that after his release, he will work and feed his family, which includes his two-year-old son and a one-and-a-half-year-old daughter.

Some months ago, Aakash’s mother had told DNA that her son had been wrongly implicated in the murder case. “He had gone to the residence of a friend, who had killed his servant after a fight. The friend had suspected his sister of having an affair with the servant,” Lata said.

“Aakash was included in the list of suspects by the police. But we believe he is innocent. We hope the jail authorities will consider his good conduct and release him before his full sentence,” she had said.