Q: I am a 42 years old woman suffering from hypertension, chronic kidney disease stage 5 and hyperkalaemia. I am on haemodialysis. The doctor has suggested kidney transplant. What should I do as I have no family member who can donate a kidney. My cretanine level is 9, urea is 75, haemoglobin is 9 and blood pressure is 150/95 mmHg.

A:As per the human organ transplantation act of 1994, one could receive the donor kidney only from ones family members, namely your siblings and parents. Additionally, any living unrelated person could also be a potential donor if that person donates voluntarily based on an emotional attachment while not seeking any financial or material gain. This obviously has to be approved by the concerned states' transplantation authorisation committee. This strict provision in the law is intended to discourage and check the rampant racketeering in organs in India. I would encourage you to get in touch with some of the organ donation foundations based in India including multi organ harvesting aid network foundation to seek further information concerning potential voluntary donors for yourself. Lastly, unfortunately, due to social and religious reasons, cadaveric donors are still a rarity in India.