On 10th March 2023, on the occasion of World Kidney Day an interactive session, “Meet the warrior- Krishan Ram Sharma” was conducted by TRIOMPH - a Patient Support Group launched by MOHAN Foundation. This session was conducted as a motivational program for kidney transplant recipients.

Dr. Aanchal Makhija moderated this entire session. She welcomed the audience while introducing the key speaker and also gave a brief introduction to TRIOMPH. TRIOMPH is an acronym for Transplant Recipients of India and Organ failure Patients – a Movement to Provide Hope. TRIOMPH's main objectives are Education, Support and Advocacy for its Patient Community and Caregivers. She began by talking about the importance of taking care of self post-transplant, so as to preserve the second chance of life that has been possible through organ transplant.

The Key speaker- Mr. Krishan Ram Sharma is the longest kidney transplant survivor, having completed 45 years of the transplant and has been named in the Asian book of records and America's book of records. In this webinar he motivated all the transplant recipients as well as donors and shared his secret formula to keep fit and healthy. This was an important session from the point of view of anxiety that is often felt by transplant recipients around survival of transplanted kidney. This session helped disprove the myths that kidney transplants only survive for 12 years. Such misconceptions deter persons on dialysis from going ahead with kidney transplants and they continue to live poor quality of life, often associated with  higher risk of infection, hospitalisation and even fatalities due to co-morbidities and immunosuppressed conditions.

He shared that when he was diagnosed with kidney failure, it was quite unexpected and the cause is not known even till date. At the young age of 25 years, he underwent a kidney transplant, with his elder brother as the donor. The transplant was done at CMC Vellore hospital, the first hospital to conduct a successful kidney transplant in India. Post transplant, he continued to stay there till about a year, so as to be under close observation by his doctors and in order to prevent any infection. He also focussed on a healthy lifestyle by walking, jogging and exercising.

Some of the important takeaway message by him included -

1. Importance of consuming low salt - avoid or minimise pickles and papads, no extra salt.

2. Avoid or minimize sugar.

3. Consuming hot and freshly made food.

4. Even while travelling, it is better to carry home made food than eat out.

5. Always consume boiled water. Drink 2-3 litres of water everyday.

6. 1.5 hours of exercise as a daily routine, irrespective of any circumstances.

7. Self-medication is a complete No. Always ask your nephrologist and go for regular follow-ups.

A lot of questions were asked, such as -

1. How you manage to use washroom facilities when you are travelling or on site.
2. Have you faced any complications till today?
3. Did you experience side effects of Steroids?

He answered that he has never faced any complications till date, however there were some issues such as losing his teeth due to prolonged steroids consumption. As regards to the usage of washroom facilities he replied that he carries dettol spray / disinfectant spray with him for disinfecting the surfaces before using the washroom.

This session was conducted on Zoom and also broadcasted live on Facebook and YouTube channels of MOHAN Foundation. There were around 20 participants on Zoom, Facebook Live and YouTube had 5 participants each, the YouTube video has around 132 views as on date of this report. Facebook has 720 views, along with 17 shares as on date of this report.

MOHAN Foundation thanks SBI Foundation for supporting this initiative. Appreciation and gratitude to Mr Krishan Ram Sharma for sharing his inspiring story.