Catholic Bishop Jacob Muricken will donate his kidney to help a man with kidney failure.
A bishop in India is leading by example during the Year of Mercy with an act of great generosity. Syro-Malabar Catholic bishop Jacob Muricken is donating his kidney to save the life of a young Hindu man, reports the Catholic News Agency.
Bishop Donating His Kidney to Save the Life of a Hindu Man[/tweetthis]
Bishop Muricken, 52-years-old and from the state of Kerala in southern India, says he has “no anxiety” about the surgery and that “it’s only a simple sacrifice for a fellow being.”
Sooraj Sudhakaran is the 30-year-old who will receive the kidney. He is from Kottakkal, which is also in Kerala. Sudhakaran supports his wife and mother as his father died four years ago and his brother two years ago. He recently lost his job and sold his house to pay for dialysis treatment. He was diagnosed with kidney failure two years ago.
Bishop Muricken is also helping to pay for some of the costs of the procedure, something else Sudhakaran is thankful for, in addition to, of course, a working kidney. Upon finding out that he would be receiving a kidney, he said, “it’s nothing less than God’s intervention.”
While Bishop Murichen’s sacrifice is great, the idea is not originally his. In fact, he was inspired by the actions of Fr. Davis Chiramel, founder of the Kidney Federation of India, an organization which has arranged for more than 20 religious men and women to donate healthy kidneys to needy recipients. Fr. Chiramel donated his kidney seven years ago.
Christian Bishop in India Donates Kidney to Hindu Man#livingdonorsROCK! https://t.co/PiYo4GAkQH
— Karol Franks (@okarol) June 2, 2016
In addition to saving and improving lives, the Kidney Federation of India also hopes to break down taboos against organ donation in the country. One of the stipulations of the organ donation is that somebody in the recipient’s family must be willing to donate in the future as well, if at all possible. Nobody in Sudhakaran’s family will be able to donate in the future, but the Federation is waiving the clause in this case.