Student appeals for support to undergo kidney transplant
A 17-year-old final year student of Accra Academy, Richard Kusi Yeboah, has appealed for public support to enable him to undergo a kidney transplant at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital this month.
Advertisement
Master Yeboah, who has end stage kidney disease, needs GH¢40,000 for the transplant which will cost GH¢60,000.
Mother to donate kidney
The mother of Master Yeboah, who is also the donor of the kidney to her son, said following an initial appeal, the National Lotteries Authority (NLA) donated GH¢20,000 towards the surgery, leaving GH¢40,000 to be raised.
A single parent and mother of two other children, Ms Donkor said she first launched the appeal in 2012 when her son had the opportunity to have the surgery during the visit of a team of surgeons from the United Kingdom who undertook a special kidney transplant operation.
“Our attempt to raise the funds, which was GH¢40,000 did not yield much so Richard missed the chance,” she said.
“The team is coming back this month and if we are able to raise the money, my son can have his transplant done by the first week of February and will not miss another opportunity,” Ms Donkor added.
Ms Donkor said she was still hopeful as the GH¢15,000 that was raised, with the help of Daily Guide, enabled her and her son to do all the necessary laboratory tests which determined that she could donate one of her kidneys to her son.
Regular haemodialysis
Currently, Master Yeboah undergoes haemodialysis twice a week at the Renal Dialysis Unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital at the cost of US$100 per session.
Other Trending Stories
She said the hospital advised that Master Yeboah needed to go through the haemodialysis for at least one year to adequately prepare him for the transplant. The estimated amount of the haemodialysis, including the administration of iron and Vitamin D, cost GH¢37, 360.00.
Ms Donkor said her hairdressing shop and all the equipment got burnt, six months after setting it up, during a fire outbreak at the Makola market in 2007.
According to her, after her apprenticeship as a hairdresser, she worked for someone for a long while during which she saved the money she used to set up her shop.
Without the means to start another hairdressing shop, Ms Donkor now makes beads for sale.
She said donations from any public spirited individual or organisation should be channelled through the Graphic Needy Fund.
NLA support
Lt. Col Yaw Dzotefe Mensah (retd), General Manager, Security of the NLA, said the organisation decided to support Master Yeboah as its way of giving back to the community their investment in playing the national lottery.
He said “in pursuing our Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, we are conscious of the fact that the NLA does not exist in isolation, neither is it just a way of making money for government. We are aware that our stakeholders or customers or the local community is affected by our business and how we do it.”