A Second Life: The Stories Behind Kidney Transplants That Keep Me Going

Out of Sight, Out of Mind—Until It’s Too Late Ask someone to name their most important organs, and you’ll hear the usual suspects: Heart. Brain. Lungs. Maybe the liver. The kidneys? They rarely make the cut. And yet—I’ve spent the better part of my surgical life watching what happens when these quiet, powerful little filters stop working. Trust me: once your kidneys fail, everything changes.   So, What Do Your Kidneys Actually Do? Most people think kidneys just “make pee.” Which is true. But also wildly incomplete. Here’s what your kidneys are doing right now, without you even noticing: Filtering about 50 gallons of blood every single day Balancing electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and calcium Regulating blood pressure Activating Vitamin D for strong bones Managing red blood cell production through a hormone called erythropoietin And yes—removing waste and extra fluid through urine They’re not just part of your plumbing. They’re biochemical command centers.   The Problem? They Don’t Complain Until They’re Already Failing Unlike chest pain or memory loss, kidney damage is often silent. You can lose up to 90% of kidney function before you feel something is wrong. That’s why I keep repeating this to patients: Don’t wait for symptoms. Know your numbers. Simple blood and urine tests (like serum creatinine and eGFR) can tell you more about your kidney health than any fancy gadget. If you have diabetes, high blood pressure, or a family history of kidney issues—you should be testing regularly. No excuses.   When the Kidneys …

Some Days, It’s Not the Surgery That Exhausts Me — It’s the Suspicion You walk into an OPD room, wearing your white coat, decades of experience behind you. But the patient sitting across from you isn’t just carrying test reports. They’re carrying fear. Not of the diagnosis—of the system. “Doctor, I just read about that scam…” “How do I know I can trust you?” “Are kidneys really sold in India?” And you can’t blame them. Because the truth is, the headlines are real. There have been scandals. There have been doctors who betrayed their oath. And those stories go viral—fast. But what doesn’t go viral is everything that happens in silence, off-camera, every single day.   Here’s What I Want You to Know I’ve been performing kidney transplants for over a decade. I’ve worked with patients from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Morocco. I’ve sat with families who couldn’t speak the language but still trusted me with their loved one’s life. And every single time, my only goal has been to protect that trust like it’s part of the procedure. Because for me, it is.   Transparency Is Not Just a Buzzword. It’s a Surgical Standard. Every kidney transplant I do is: Audited Documented Legally cleared through national authorization committees And most importantly — explained in full detail to the patient and donor families No shortcuts. No under-the-table arrangements. No decisions made in the shadows. We don’t match kidneys—we match trust with accountability.   But Here’s the Hardest Part When one scandal …

I’ve Been Asked This More Times Than I Can Count Not by patients. By their brothers. By mothers, friends, cousins—people who walk into my clinic ready to donate a kidney, but still holding one quiet question: “Will I be okay after this?” Let me answer that the way I do in real life: Yes. You will be. Not just “alive and functioning.” I mean normal. Healthy. Fully you.   Here’s What Most People Don’t Realize We’re all born with two kidneys, but we only actually need one to live a completely normal life. In fact, many people are walking around with a single kidney—some because they donated it, some because of childhood illness, others without even knowing it. The human body is unbelievably adaptive. When one kidney is removed, the remaining kidney gradually increases its filtering capacity to compensate. This isn’t a guess—it’s something I’ve seen over and over again in real patients over the last decade.   What Life Looks Like With One Kidney Let me be honest with you. Recovery takes time—like any surgery. But once you're healed? You’ll be able to: Eat a normal diet (with a few common-sense modifications) Work full-time Exercise—including cardio, strength, yoga Travel, drive, dance at weddings, chase after your kids I’ve had donors go on to have children. I’ve had patients send me photos from Everest Base Camp. (And once, a honeymoon video from Switzerland—but that’s another story.) The point is: you are not broken. You are not limited. You are not …

You’ve Heard the Word ‘Transplant’. But What Actually Happens on the Table? I get this question a lot. Someone comes into my clinic—confused, hopeful, scared—and asks, “Doctor, can you just… explain what actually happens during the surgery?” Not in textbook language. Not with scary diagrams. Just… human to human. So that’s what I’m doing here. Because if I’m going to perform a life-changing procedure on you or someone you love, you deserve to know exactly what happens from the moment we scrub in, to the moment your body starts a new chapter.   Let’s Start with the Basics: What Is a Kidney Transplant? A kidney transplant is a surgery where I take a healthy kidney—usually from a living donor (often a family member) or a deceased donor—and place it inside a patient whose kidneys are no longer functioning properly. But here’s the thing most people don’t realize: We don’t remove your damaged kidneys (unless there’s an infection or specific reason to do so). We simply place the new kidney in your lower abdomen, connect it to your blood vessels and urinary tract, and let it take over the job your old ones stopped doing.   Step-by-Step: What I Actually Do in the Operating Theatre Let me walk you through it like I would in a consult. 1. Prepping the Patient You’ll already have gone through a full evaluation: blood work, imaging, cross-matching, psychological readiness. Before surgery, we administer anesthesia—you’ll be completely asleep, pain-free, and monitored throughout. 2. Making the Incision …

When the System Breaks, It’s the Patients Who Suffer Earlier this year, news broke about a disturbing kidney transplant scandal in Pune, involving multiple illegal transplants carried out under forged documents. Senior doctors—including one who headed a transplant approval committee—were arrested for clearing over 10 transplants using fake identities. As someone who has worked in this field for over a decade, I wasn’t just alarmed—I was deeply disappointed. Because every time a case like this happens, it doesn’t just damage institutions. It chips away at patient trust.   Why I’m Writing This I’ve spent years building a practice rooted in ethics, empathy, and accountability. Patients come to me when they’re already dealing with the physical and emotional burden of kidney failure. They shouldn’t have to worry about whether their paperwork is real or their consent is being manipulated. This blog isn’t about pointing fingers. It’s about helping you understand how to protect yourself, and what a transparent, ethical transplant process should look like.   What Went Wrong in the Pune Scandal In this case, doctors allegedly: Used fake names and altered documents Cleared transplant approvals without due diligence Took advantage of the loopholes in the donor–recipient matching system This is not how transplant medicine is supposed to work. And frankly, it’s not how I work.   How I Ensure Every Transplant is Ethical, Safe, and Legal In my practice, everything starts with trust and documentation. Here’s what I personally oversee: Every donor–recipient match is cross-verified with official ID, lab tests, …

When a New Kidney Means a New Start Here’s the thing about kidney failure: it doesn’t just slow down your body—it shrinks your life. What you eat, how you sleep, where you go, what you plan. Everything. For many people, dialysis becomes the lifeline—but also the leash. It keeps you alive, sure. But at what cost? A kidney transplant, when done right, isn’t just a medical procedure. It’s an actual shot at starting over. Getting your energy back. Your time. Your appetite. Your plans. In the last decade, Dr. Jyoti Bansal, one of India’s leading kidney transplant surgeons based in Jaipur, has helped hundreds of patients walk away from dialysis and reclaim their lives. This isn’t a sales pitch. It’s just what happens when the right team meets the right treatment plan—and patients finally feel heard. Let’s break down what this whole thing really looks like.   What Actually Is a Kidney Transplant? In simple words: You have a kidney that doesn’t work. You get one that does. That working kidney comes from A living donor (often a family member) or A deceased donor whose family has agreed to organ donation. This healthy kidney is placed in your lower abdomen and connected to your blood vessels and bladder. Your old kidneys? Usually left as-is unless they’re infected or causing issues. The new one takes over filtering waste, balancing electrolytes, and restoring what your body hasn’t been able to do for a while.   When Do You Actually Need a Kidney …