Although Mr. Kong Fook Seng is nearing his 70th birthday in October, his kidney remains remarkably aged at 98 years old, having once belonged to his late father, Kong Wing Hing.
“For me, receiving my father’s kidney was nothing short of a divine blessing. It spared me the arduousness of bedridden dialysis,” remarked Mr. Kong, who holds a position in design project management at a semiconductor company.
In 1975, Mr. Kong was diagnosed with chronic glomerulonephritis, a condition characterised by inflammation of the kidney’s tiny filters responsible for removing excess fluid and waste from the bloodstream.
“Prior to my diagnosis, football was a passion of mine. But as time went on, I found myself gradually losing the strength to kick the ball.
“After matches, I’d often need to lie down on the field for an hour before summoning the energy to head home,” reminisced Mr. Kong.
“As the years passed, Mr. Kong’s fatigue intensified, with even the simplest tasks proving to be taxing.
Climbing the steps to the overhead bridge, for instance, took him a daunting 15 minutes.
“I even had to sleep sitting up at night to avoid breathing difficulties,” he added.
Dr. Sobhana Thangaraju, a senior consultant in renal medicine at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and SingHealth Duke-NUS Transplant Centre, explained that chronic glomerulonephritis progresses silently over several years, often causing severe damage that culminates in irreversible kidney failure.
This condition hinders the kidneys’ ability to eliminate excess fluids and waste from the body.
Mr. Kong’s difficulty breathing while lying down was attributed to fluid accumulation in the lungs, she clarified.
In 1980, at the age of 26, Mr. Kong experienced kidney failure. Over the subsequent five to six months, he underwent peritoneal dialysis, a procedure utilising blood vessels lining the abdomen walls to remove waste and excess fluid.
“By the fourth day of dialysis, the pain was excruciating, requiring morphine for relief. Despite the provision of three blankets and a hot water bottle, I still felt unbearably cold,” he stated.
For the following three to four months, Mr. Kong underwent hemodialysis. This procedure entails a machine that draws blood from the body, filters it through an artificial kidney, and returns the purified blood to the body.
He mentioned that subsequently, his doctor, Professor Woo Keng Thye, encouraged his siblings to undergo tests to determine if they were suitable kidney donors.
Mr. Kong was lucky to find that both his father and brother were ideal matches to donate a kidney to him.
“Although my brother was kept on standby, it was my father who ultimately donated his kidney,” he disclosed.
In that same year, the transplant was conducted by Prof Woo, a Renal consultant at SGH at the time, with Mr. Kong’s father being 54 years old.
Without a suitable match, Mr. Kong would have likely faced an eight to nine-year wait for a kidney from a deceased donor.
Living a normal life was possible for Mr. Kong thanks to his father’s generous kidney donation.
Even though Mr. Kong has lived with his father’s kidney for 44 years, he is not the longest-surviving kidney transplant recipient.
Ms. Charlotte Markle, now 81, received her transplant 58 years ago in 1966 and has lived with it ever since.
Despite advancements in technology and updates to the Human Organ Transplant Act (Hota), the waiting list for organ transplants remains long and continues to grow.
In 2023, the wait for cadaveric kidneys was the longest, with recipients having waited around nine years on average. By the end of the year, 400 patients remained on the waiting list for a cadaveric kidney transplant.
According to data from the National Organ Transplant Unit (NOTU) at the Ministry of Health (MOH), there were 39 kidney transplants from deceased donors and 49 from living donors in 2023, compared to 33 and 56, respectively, in 2019.
Dr. Sobhana commented, “With advancements in medical and surgical technology, surgery to remove the donor kidney can now be performed using laparoscopy (a form of keyhole surgery), allowing the donor to be discharged from the hospital three to four days after the operation.”
Once a donor is discharged, they can resume normal activities and return to work within four to six weeks.
Dr. Sobhana noted that most donors are able to live long and healthy lives with one kidney, with excellent health outcomes. They also have regular follow-ups to ensure their kidneys are functioning normally.
She mentioned that while a kidney from a deceased donor typically lasts about 15 years and one from a living donor lasts around 20 years, Mr. Kong’s transplanted kidney lasting over 40 years is “a rare occurrence.”
Mr. Kong shared that his father continued to practice Qigong after donating his kidney and lived a long and fruitful life until his death at the age of 89.
Mr. Kong maintained a healthy lifestyle, even returning to sports by participating in the World Transplant Games.
“I was the flag bearer in 1989,” he proudly mentioned. To keep his father’s kidney healthy, he exercises regularly and, with a smile, added, “I drink red wine.”
“I’ll be celebrating my 70th birthday and my 36th wedding anniversary with my wife, who has supported me through everything,” he shared.
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