Malati (dd) ACBSP (GBC) (New Vrindavan/Columbus – USA):
Dearest Community of Vaishnave’s: Please accept my humbly offered obiesance’s. All gloreis to Srila Prabhupada.
In a fast evolving turn of events, His Grace, Shyamasundar Prabhu, initiated in Jan. “67 in SF, who carved the original Jagannath deities that are still worshipped to this day in Berkley as well as three other sets,who was the beloved personal secretary for Srila Prabhupada during the early seventies, who is the one who introduced Srila Prabhupdada and Hare Krishna to the Beatles and asked George to pay for printing of first edition of the Krishna Books, etc, is in need of a liver transplant.
The ideal solutioin would be from a “Living Donor,” where a healthy person gives a portion of their healthy liver to the reciever and in both instances, the liver regenerates itself to full size and capablity. (This proceedure was successfully accomplished earilier this year for a devotee in New Vrindaban.) Shyamasundar’s daughter’s were both willing to donate, but neither one’s blood matched. His liver is infected with a very large tumour and it must be replaced if Shyam is to live. Myself and Radhanath Swami heard this news and felt there must be someone out in the greater community of Vaishnaves with the health, compassion, and blood type who could come forward and help at this
time. Hence this unusual appeal. Shyamasundar has yet to complete his memoirs of Srila Prabhpada and an early departure would be the lose of not only a wonderful vvaishnave, but his precious memories that have yet to be shared in full. Please step forward, if your heart prompts you to do so, and see if you can help. I copy his letter to myself and Radhanath Swami below with the necesarry details of a blood match. The operation would be in Chicago at the hospital where the first such operation of this kind occured with excellent results less then a decade ago. I beg your mercy and pray for the blessings of
Sri Sri Radha Krishna on all of you. In any case, please offer your prayers for the benefit of Shyamasundar prabhu. He has always been a most kind hearted
benevolent devotee who never tolerated criticism of others in his presence.
yr humble servant, malati dasi (acbsp)
Dear beloved friends–
Thank you guys so much for your call with Janaki yesterday!
It certainly would be a sensational solution to this whole ugly matter if a healthy devotee could slip me a piece of their liver! Accoding to my info, this is the least damaging operation for both parties, has the best chance of success, and what’s best, can be done immediately, no 6-9 month wait!
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Anyway, SPECIFICALLY, this potential donor:
(1) Must have O-type blood; O-positive or O-negative, doesn’t matter, but blood-type “O” is required.
(2) Must be height- and weight-equivalent; I’m 6’0″ and weigh about 190 lbs, but they can definitley play around with these size figures. (For example, they were ready to give me a piece of my daughter’s liver (but the blood didn’t match) and she’s much smaller than I am…)
(3) This person must be more than a casual acquaintance and be able to convince the U of Chicago that they are very willing to contribute and that there will be not grounds for future litigation. (So it’s best to identify any potential donor as a “close friend,” setting aside “same religion” or such-type designations).
That’s all!
Now, to facilitate things, it would be best to already know that a potential donor’s blood-type is O or not, but even without knowing their blood-type, any potential donor for Sam Speerstra can contact:
Jeanine Elkin Liver Transplant Coordinator Univ of Chicago Medical Center Phone: 773-834-4562 Fax: 773-834-3640
Jeanine will instruct each particular donor in how to proceed.
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Wow! I pray to Krishna this works, but my biggest boon is knowing that there are other souls out there who have so much love for Prabhupad that they would risk helping me in this way, whether it’s successful or not.
My gratitude to you both is unlimited.
Yr eternal servant, Shyamasundar das
I am the devotee who received a living donor liver transplant. My son was the donor.
I may not be the best one to motivate someone to do this, but I might be able to help someone who has already made the decision to do so, and is a match.
I can speak to the experience of my son, although his experience may not reflect that of someone else. He was in his early twenties, in the US Navy at the time, and in soccer playing condition.
He was out of the hospital in the minimum time, 7 days. Two months after the surgery he drove his car from West Virginia to Florida round trip, doing all the driving himself. One year after the surgery he went through US Army basic training. In a unit of 66 soldiers, he had the fourth best time in the unit in the 2 mile run, doing it in 13 minutes.
He bounced back fast, but older, less fit donors may not do as well. I don’t want to give unrealistic expectations based on his experience, but it is a doable experience. A couple weeks in the hospital might be more normal.
There is some danger, though the center we did ours at has a zero percent mortality rate. They have never lost a donor.
There are a couple of weeks after the surgery that are rather unpleasant, but that passes. There is also a very large scar, so kiss that dream of being a calendar model goodbye.
Another down side is that for the first couple of weeks after, it is excruciatingly painful to laugh, so anyone who makes you laugh has to be avoided, or strictly regulated. We found it quite easy to laugh, unfortunately. :-)
Anyone who is strongly called to do this, who would like to get some insider background info on the procedure, feel free to contact me by commenting on my blog which can be found by googling “View From A New Vrindaban Ridge.”