Hillsborough Wife Donates Kidney To Save Husband

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — This is one gift that will be hard to top as Krishna Patel of Hillsborough donated her kidney to save her husband Ankur’s life.

"It was pretty amazing," Ankur said of his wife’s gift of life. "I don’t even know how to put my feelings into words. To me she is everything - brave, amazing, selfless. I can’t even put it into words."

It all began when Ankur was born with a defect on his kidney where scare tissue took over. The issue was corrected when he was about three or four years old but his kidney never fully developed.

Ankur was able to maintain his kidney function for awhile while taking medication. Doctors told him the scar tissue was unpredictable so it was unknown if he would ever need a transplant. During this time Ankur and Krishna met in California and married 13 years ago.

However, the scar tissue started to build up again and he started to lose four to five percent of his functionality each year.

Once his kidney began only functioning at 10 to 15 percent he would need to be put on the transplant list or undergo dialysis. To prevent that Ankur put himself on the preventive transplant list in September 2018.

Hopes of Ankur’s brother being a match did not pan out. That’s when Krishna, who has a blood type capable of being a universal donor, got tested. Ankur and and Krisna were nervous for her to be a match as they have two small daughters at home — Sonakshi, 9 and Anjali, 6.

"I didn't want him to have to go through dialysis, so I got tested," Krishna said. "Most importantly I wanted him there for the girls. I wanted him to be around long term."

It was a year long process of testing but Krishna was a match.

Leading up to the surgery it was scary for both parents as they would be undergoing major surgery with children at home.

"It was the scariest experience because we would both be put under and we have kids," Krishna said. "All I kept thinking was, 'What if?' "

The surgery took place at St. Barnabas Hospital in Livingston on Jan. 14 and it was broadcast live to students at the Liberty Science Center. The surgery was successful, the kidney took, and both Ankur and Krishna are recovering well.

"It feels great to be able to save his life," Krishna said. "We were always looking at this in the long term for us as a family. We didn’t want him to go to dialysis… When I was a match it was an emotional journey for me. But at the end of the day, once I did it, I felt great."

Ankur publicly thanked Krishna for her gift on his Facebook page saying, "Krishna, you are my best friend, my wife, mother of our beautiful girls and now my personal hero."

To learn more about organ donation or to become a donor visit njsharingnetwork.org.

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.

Get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our new app. Download here. Don't miss local and statewide announcements. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters.