A Dubai teenager was given the gift of life when his father donated a kidney after Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, stepped in to ensure the family received crucial health care.
Pritvik Sinhadc, 16, received the organ transplant from a live donor in the first surgery of its kind to be carried out in the UAE.
A team of physicians from Al Jalila Children's Specialty Hospital , Mohammed bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences and Mediclinic Middle East came together for the life-saving procedure.
The surgery was funded by Al Jalila Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation set up by Sheikh Mohammed.
Pritvik, who has been named a UAE Ambassador for Organ Donation, said he felt lucky his father could come to his aid and vowed to dedicate himself to helping others overcome serious illness.
"I pledge to work towards raising awareness on the crucial need for organ donation in saving lives of patients like me, who would otherwise not make it without a transplant," he said.
"I have been lucky to have my father as my donor. However, there are many who need transplants to survive and I shall be working closely with MBRU and the Al Jalila Foundation to ensure that there is increased awareness of organ donation."
The Dubai College pupil’s world fell apart when he had stage-four renal failure diagnosed in 2019.
The problem was compounded when Covid-19 struck and his family were told the high risk of infection made travelling to hospital too risky.
Pritvik’s future looked bleak until he was contacted by the office of the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai last June.
In a letter, Sheikh Mohammed wrote: “To my dear Pritvik, this is a small gesture from me to you to remind you that you are at home here and that you are in safe hands, and I will pray to God to keep you in good health and safe. Keep smiling, my little warrior.”
Pritvik's father, Bhaskar Sinhadc, was identified as a successful match after which he underwent a full donor evaluation process.
Father and donor for UAE's s first pediatric kidney transplant patient
Mr Sinhadc appealed for help from Al Jalila Foundation after fearing all hope was lost.
"It felt like we were staring into a black hole because the situation looked so bleak," Mr Sinhadc said in an interview with The National last year.
“I resigned from my job working for an oil and gas company in Qatar to come back and help my son, but it was so frustrating being stuck over there, unable to do anything."
The transplant was performed by Dr Ramzi Ayache, nephrologist at Mediclinic City Hospital, in collaboration with Dr Farhad Janahi, consultant urologist and transplant surgeon at Mediclinic City Hospital and assistant professor of surgery at MBRU and Dr Waldo Concepcion, head of the Al Jalila Children's Organ Transplant Centre.
The operation is expected to improve Pritvik's quality of life in the years ahead.
Pritvik was born with 50 per cent renal failure, but that did not stop him making a name for himself with his achievements.
He has written three books already, the first of which was published when he was only seven.
At the age of 14, he was chosen as one of 45 scholars from around the world to take part in the World Science Fair in New York.
This was all the more remarkable because the competition is usually open only to those aged 15 to 17.
Pritvik plans to study for a career in astrobiology and astrophysics.
