Good Samaritans

What are the emotions that arise in our mind when we read a news piece about a patient in need of an urgent transplant surgery? Many a time, we skip over the news. At other times, we may feel sympathy and heave a sigh. Very rarely, we would make a donation of a small amount for helping the patient. While this is true for a majority of us, God has created a few Good Samaritans among us who go beyond apathy, sympathy, financial help etc., all the way to donate their organs to save the life of the needy. As in the Parable of the Good Samaritan these saviors are in no way related to the patients in need, but are awakened by a divine call to take the enormous risk of undergoing complex surgeries, hospitalization and all the associated troubles, for the sake of an unknown sufferer.

Fr Davis Chiramel, a Catholic priest from Kerala was moved to see the plight of a patient from his village, who was desperately in need of a kidney transplant. The friends of the patient were raising funds and looking to “buy” donors when Fr Chiramel intervened and stepped in to donate his kidney. The fact that the patient belonged to a different faith was of no significance to the priest. He considered that he had been “blessed with the possibility of offering his body to save a man”. After successfully saving a life, Fr Chiramel has started the Kidney Federation of India,  to spread the message of organ donation.

Mr. Kochouseph Chittilappilly, the founder of V-Guard industries has for long been a well-respected industrialist of Kerala. In the nineties, he used to be in the news for being the highest income tax payer in Kerala. He is a techie, who turned into an entrepreneur in 1977, much before it became fashionable. He had seen the plight of a close relative suffering from Kidney disease and the story of Fr. Chiramel’s donation motivated him to explore the possibility of donating a kidney. He set aside his duties as the head of a business empire and underwent the surgery to save the life of an unknown patient.  He has captured his experiences in the soon to be published book titled “A Journey To One Kidney”.

Fr Sebastian Kidangathazhe, a priest from Idukki, Kerala is following the noble footsteps of Fr Chiramel and Mr. Chittilappilly. On a bus journey, he noticed a tired youngster sitting beside him. A casual conversation with the youngster has paved the way for what could hopefully be a life-saver. The youngster, Razad is suffering from a serious kidney ailment and his only chance of survival is to undergo a transplant. After being cheated by a kidney agent, Razad had practically given up hope. In the course of the short journey, Fr Sebastian realized that Razad has the same blood group as he. It did not take him a lot of time to resolve to offer his kidney to Razad. As this Manorama news story says, just a last couple of formalities are left before the life giving transplant can take place.

What motivates these great souls to undertake these risks for the sake of strangers? Maybe they have truly imbibed the Christian values of compassion and service. It is not a coincidence that all three of them are Christians. Maybe these people have found their “Higher Purpose” or “True North” of their lives. Viktor Frankl, in his magnum opus, “Man’s Search for Meaning” emphasizes that a life lived in the service of one’s fellow beings is the most meaningful one. The “higher purpose” of saving a life is what makes their suffering bearable. A much simpler explanation came to my mind when I read these stories. A subtle twist to the proverb - "God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers" could help to explain. God could not be everywhere and therefore he made these Good Samaritans.