In the Kottayam district of Kerala, a bishop has decided to take the signal from Pope Francis and ensure that his call to make 2016 a ‘Year of Mercy’ doesn’t go in vain.
Jacob Muricken, the Bishop of Pala diocese of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, will donate his kidney to 30-year-old Sooraj Sudhakaran, who has been undergoing dialysis for over a year after both his kidneys failed.
“It is only a simple sacrifice for a fellow being,” said Muriken. For the 53-year-old bishop, the recipient’s religion was never a concern. Can you believe, he is the first serving bishop who has volunteered to donate a kidney, while alive.
For Sudhakaran, whose kidneys have failed a year ago, this ‘simple sacrifice’ comes as a miracle to his door step. Since Sudhakaran is the only earning member of his family, he had to sell his house in order to meet his expenses for treatment. He then registered himself with the Kidney Federation of India last year, and was desperately waiting for a donor.
The bishop learnt of Sudhakaran’s plight from the chairman of the Kidney Federation of India, Father Davis Chiramel, who himself donated one of his kidneys seven years ago.
Inspired by Chiramel, so far, 15 priests and six nuns have donated kidneys to non-related recipients through the organ donation network, Kidney Federation of India.
Source : The Huffington Post
