Nagpur: Life is a gift, which one receives only once. But for Nagpur resident Rahul Nemade, life happened twice: first when he was born on April 7, 1985, and now recently when his 63-year-old mother, Sunanda, donated her kidney to save him from a life-threatening illness.On Mother’s Day, Rahul’s story has emerged as a deeply moving reminder of a mother’s unconditional love.Rahul, 41, was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure in November 2023. The months that followed were among the darkest of his life. As his condition worsened and both his kidneys failed, dialysis began in June 2025.Doctors advised the family that a kidney transplant was the only long-term solution. “But looking at the waiting list, we realised it could take nearly four years to get a kidney,” Rahul told TOI.But his mother had already made up her mind. “She said there was no need to put my name on the list because she would donate her kidney to me,” Rahul said.Rahul initially resisted the idea. He could not accept the thought of his elderly mother suffering because of him. “At this age, I should have been the one taking care of her. Instead, she had to go through pain and surgery for me. We kept telling her not to do it, but she remained firm,” he said.Dr Jitesh Jeswani and Dr Dhananjay Selukar explained that kidneys from close blood relatives often offer the best compatibility and assisted with the process, following which the family decided to proceed with the transplant. The surgery took place on April 21 this year, and Rahul was discharged from the hospital only a few days ago.Rahul describes the transplant not merely as a medical procedure, but a rebirth. “My mother literally gave birth to me again. A part of her now lives inside me. Every breath I take feels like a blessing from her,” he said emotionally.A civil engineer who runs a manufacturing unit in Butibori, Rahul lives in a large joint family with his parents, wife, 12-year-old son, elder brother and sister-in-law. Throughout his illness, he says, the fear that haunted him most was not death, but the thought of leaving his family behind too soon.“It shows how fragile life really is. You may have money, success and everything else, but none of it matters if there is no life,” he said.
