Annamanada (Thrissur): Diya couldn’t wait to turn 18 on Thursday to give her mother, who has been giving her presents on her birthday all these years, an invaluable gift, her liver! 

As per the organ transplantation law, Diya, daughter of Reena and Dinil Kumar of Anambalam at Meladoor, could donate her liver to her ailing mother only after she turned 18. So she was waiting for the day to give her mother a new lease of life.

Forty-one-year-old Reena was recently diagnosed with liver disease. The doctors informed the family that a liver transplantation could not be avoided, putting the family under great stress. They were faced with two challenges– first to find a donor and next to meet the expenses of the treatment. It was during the hunt for a donor when Diya asked her parents to test if her liver could be donated. The tests conducted following this proved favourable to them. However, her age was an issue. Only those turned 18 can give consensus for organ donation. Since then Diya has been waiting for the day. 

Both Diya and her family are expecting that on Thursday itself they can sign the consensus papers for the liver transplantation surgery and complete all the formalities in this regard.

To fulfill her dream, she needs support from kind-hearted people. The treatment expenses so far alone were something that her family could bear. Her father Dinil is an electrician. The people’s representatives and local residents are also trying to raise an amount for the expensive treatment.

Amid all these ordeals, Diya scored good marks in the higher secondary examination. She is planning to return to her busy study schedule after the surgery. Diya, who wishes to join the IT Sector in the future, has to find ways to pursue her studies and for the higher education of her brother as well.