Kidney transplant patients must avoid public gatherings

NEW DELHI - As Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh Wednesday resigned as general secretary of the party on health grounds, doctors here said that people who have undergone a kidney transplant develop low immune system and need to avoid public gatherings and crowded places for a better life.

The immune system of kidney transplant patients goes down. It is advised to avoid public gatherings as they are susceptible to catching other ailments like pneumonia, swine flu and other viral infections, Dinesh Khullar, a senior kidney expert at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital here. told IANS.

Amar Singh had undergone a kidney transplant in a Singapore hospital last summer.

Doctors said that after a kidney transplant, a patient’s lifestyle must change and less socialising is also advised. The life span too gets affected though they can lead a near normal life with due precautions.

Don’t ask if it affects the life span. The life span is over with damaged kidneys. After transplant what you get is a premium, Sanjiv Jasuja, a nephrologist with the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, told IANS.

People who have debates and hypertension need to take extra precaution in their day-to-day life. We advise regular medical check-ups, Jasuja added.

Doctors said that it’s not that people cannot lead a normal life after transplant. Those who have the means can go for a second transplant…lets say after 10 or 15 years.

They are a high-risk group and must avoid crowded places as they don’t know who is sitting next to them. In relative terms, a kidney transplant patient catches some other health problems easily and this can affect the life span negatively, Khullar explained by way of rationalising Amar Singh’s decision which has given rise to a lot of political and media speculation.

Jasuja said that home food, due rest and avoiding alcohol are good for such people.