A tragic accident left Anoma Chadiwani widowed at the age of 33. Her husband, Sarath Colvin, 42 years was injured in a motorcycle accident on June 20 at Galiganeliya, Seeduwa and succumbed to his injuries on June 25, after five days on life support machines, at the Intensive Care Unit of the National Hospital.
Sarath was pronounced brain dead, with no hope of recovery. But in a path-breaking first for Sri Lanka, his liver was donated to the patient who underwent the first ever liver transplant surgery in Sri Lanka, while his two kidneys were rushed to Kandy to benefit two kidney patients.
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| Anoma and her two children and below their home in Seeduwa. |
Now bereft of the family breadwinner, Anoma has two young children to support. Fortunately, she has the little house her husband, a mason, had built before they got married. “I came here soon after we were married 13 years ago,” Anoma said. Her grandmother has come to live with her since her husband’s untimely death, as she is all alone.
“He left home that day about 8.45 p.m. with his brother, to see about some work,” Anoma said, recalling that fateful day. “My sister-in-law came and broke the news to me that he had been taken to hospital after an accident. After five days, the doctors treating him told us that he was brain dead and would not recover.
They asked me whether I would consent to donate his liver for a patient urgently needing a liver transplant. After I was convinced that Colvin could not live once the tubes were disconnected, I gave my consent to remove the liver, kidneys and eyes.”
Anoma has spent her married life at home, looking after her family but is now hoping to be able to find some work after the three month almsgiving, to enable her to support her two daughters Charuni, 11 and Kanchana 8, who are attending a school nearby. “I was never able to go to work because I could not leave the two girls alone,” Anoma said.
“My husband used to take them to school and I picked them up each day after school. Now that my grandmother is here to help me, I can leave the children with her. However, I have no educational qualifications, so I will have to find something I can do.” As there are some garment factories in the neighbourhood, Anoma hopes she would find some work there.
Articles about her plight in the Sinhala press, brought in some donations totalling about Rs. 40,000, which has helped Anoma and the girls to survive the past three months. A balance of some Rs. 8,000 is all that is left, which will have to be withdrawn for the almsgiving. “Thereafter, I will have to find some work,” she said.
The driver who was responsible for the accident, is out on bail, Anoma’s brother-in-law Sunil said. He has apparently promised to pay them Rs. 50,000 as compensation. “We were told that he has deposited Rs. 30,000 at the Negombo courts but we haven’t got it yet,” Anoma said. “We have been asked to come to the courts next month.”
According to medical ethics, the only accepted reason for the donation of organs of a living or dead person is altruism, the wish to save a life,” says Prof. Mandika Wijeyaratne, head of the team of surgeons, who performed the landmark liver transplant surgery. Donors are not expected to accept compensation for the organs donated. However, worldwide, there is a tendency to resort to buying organs and poor people resort to selling them. The recipient is not introduced to the donor’s family, to prevent any demands for compensation. Strictly speaking, there is no obligation for the payment of compensation.
The recipient of the liver, although not introduced to the donor family, has tried to help them by arranging a job for a family member. “We kept him out of it and it is being arranged through us as it is not advisable for them to meet,” Dr. Mandika said. The doctors in the team too, have taken a personal interest in doing what they can to help Anoma to manage on her own without having to depend on others.
With their encouragement, two savings accounts for the two children as well as a fixed deposit for the young widow have been set up. Any contributions can be sent to A/C 3227781 of Bank of Ceylon Seeduwa in the name of Mrs. S.A.A. Chadiwani.
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