What are impacts of living with one kidney? Nephrologist answers

Anju Bobby George. Pic/AFP

No one would have thought it when she won the bronze medal for long jump at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. No one would have thought it either when, three years later, she became the first and so far only Indian to win a gold medal at an IAAF World Athletics Final. But last week, Anju Bobby George, one of the country's most decorated athletes, revealed that she had won all her numerous accolades with just one kidney, since that's how she was born. It sent a wave of surprise among her fans, who lauded her on social media for achieving these heights she did despite her limitation.

But here's the thing. Her fans' surprise about her condition is somewhat misplaced because people who are born with a single kidney can by and large lead a normal life. That's what Dr VV Lakshminarayan, chief consultant nephrologist at Kolkata's Apollo Gleneagles Hospital, tells us when we ask him about what the dos and don'ts are for a person who's in a similar situation as George. He says, "There is nothing really to be apprehensive about if you keep going for periodic check-ups to find out about things like your blood pressure and whether the remaining kidney is doing fine or not."

Keep in mind
The equation, however, changes when a person undergoes a surgery to have a faulty kidney removed. It's difficult for such a person to do what George has done. "The process involves a major surgery, and it's unusual for the patient to indulge in high-level athletics," Dr Lakshminarayan explains, adding that nonetheless, people can still casually play sports like golf and cricket under these circumstances.

Dietary restrictions, he continues, need to be followed only when the remaining kidney starts behaving abnormally. "Your salt and protein intake will need to be restricted, for example, though it all depends on the assessment of your doctor." This is also when the risk of a possible fatal situation arises, because there might be a stone in your solitary kidney or something causes it to scar.

Normal all the way
But otherwise, Dr Lakshminarayn's clear message is that if you are born with one kidney and have lived a normal life, your body gets used to that condition. He gives us the example of former Argentine tennis player Guillermo Vilas to elucidate his point. Vilas is a left-hander. So, when he was an active player, he used that limb so much that it became twice the size of his right hand. Similarly, when a person has just one kidney, it adapts itself to fulfil the job of the missing counterpart. "Some people are born with an extra finger, like Hrithik Roshan. These are just developmental abnormalities, and you might well be born with one kidney and be none the wiser about it your entire life," feels Dr Lakshminarayan.

In George's case, she found out about her condition in 2000. But did that stop her from winning the most important medals in her life? It did not, and as long as other people born with a single kidney go for regular check-ups, it shouldn't stop them from reaching great heights either.

Ties that bind
It was in 2002 that retired teacher Ruma Nandy's brother, Colonel Aloke Guha, found out that one of his kidneys had dried up completely and the other one wasn't functioning well either. But thankfully, when his matching was done with her, she turned out to be 50-per cent compatible as a donor, which is the maximum limit possible. She tells us that there is a strange bond that develops between two such people, because a part of one person now exists in the other. Nandy has had no complications since then, and gets a check-up done twice a year. Her brother, who's now 60, also returned to resume his duties in the Indian Army later on. "He plays golf these days and is doing fine, by the grace of God," Nandy assures.

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