By Olivia Miwil
KOTA KINABALU: When her elder sister suffered total kidney failure 12 years ago, Ho Siew Chen did not hesitate for a second to offer one of her own.
For the 49-year-old ultra-runner, the decision was instinctive.
"When my family found out, I knew I would be the first to donate. Having two kidneys felt like a gift," she said.
"If I were to die (during the procedure), that's life. Life is short and our sisterhood is fate; we still have many plans together."
Her sister, Dr. Siew Lee, now 52 and a medical officer at Serdang Hospital, discovered both her kidneys were failing in her late 20s after noticing symptoms like leg swelling.
Surprisingly, she had no history of diabetes or hypertension.
Before her 2014 transplant, Dr. Siew Lee underwent dialysis for two years.
Despite needing Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD) every four hours daily, she refused to let her condition stop her from working and traveling.
"Even with kidney failure, you can still live a normal life," she said.
The sisters are now among 35 climbers set to scale Mount Kinabalu in a mission organised by Wira Transplant Malaysia (WTM).
Organising chairman Siva Kumar Raghavan said the group includes six dialysis patients, one organ donor, and eight transplant recipients, supported by medical professionals.
While the climb carries risks such as fluid retention and electrolyte imbalances, Siva noted that with proper management, the activity aims to raise vital awareness about kidney disease and the life-changing impact of transplants.
WTM president Manvir Victor highlighted the urgency of the cause, noting that Malaysia has approximately 53,000 dialysis-dependent patients—a crisis costing RM4 billion annually.
He revealed that while 27 new patients start dialysis daily, 21 others lose their lives each day.
"Now, we have to stop this together," Manvir said.
Also present at the event were Sabah Assistant Finance Minister Ishak Ayub, Malaysian Society of Transplantation president Mohamad Zaimi Abdul Wahab, and Yayasan Kelab-Kelab Rotary Malaysia representative Audrey Koh
Comments
Post a Comment