Vikram Bansal, a liver recipient, got a fresh start in life which not only changed his way of living but made him a staunch supporter of organ donation as well.

Before being diagnosed with end stage liver cirrhosis, Vikram led a routine-life working in the IT industry. The initial symptoms of his ailment did not worry him as he believed it was nothing serious. Little did he know then that he was about to embark on an uncertain journey.

“The feeling was of disbelief, that it couldn’t happen. Maybe there was some mistake in the ultrasound” thought Vikram when he was told that he would need a liver transplant.

In India, according to Fortis Organ Retrieval and Transplant, 1,00,000 people die due to liver diseases each year. Out of these, only 1,000 are lucky enough to receive a liver transplant. A mere 0.5 persons per million of the population donate their organs in our country, according to ORGAN India. Vikram’s wait for a liver was a long and difficult one.

Since none of Vikram’s family members could donate parts of their livers to him, his only option was that he gets a cadaver donor. He registered himself in number of hospitals.

Doctors told him that his chances of receiving a transplant were slim. Twice he received phone calls to alert him of a possible transplantation, but the donors’ families changed their minds at the last minute.

Finally Vikram received a liver from an unknown ‘angel’. “I have a lot of people to be thankful for giving me a new lease of life, but most of all to the unnamed angel who has given me the gift” he says.

“I do not know who the donor was but the courage and largess shown by the family of the donor (in the time of family tragedy) is unprecedented.” Vikram decided to reciprocate the gesture by registering himself as an organ donor.

“I have discussed this with members of my family and friends who are supporting me in this decision. In fact some of them have expressed their wish to do the same” he says.

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