TheCable

Pearl Ansa, a Lagos resident, is in need of at least N8 million to treat “atrial septal defect” (ASD), a disorder leading to a hole in the wall that divides the upper chambers of the heart.

Ansa wouldn’t have known she had this defect until she offered to donate a kidney to a man she met on social media. 

The man had been diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease, and he urgently needed kidney transplantation. He was said to have raised the money for the expected bill. But he did not get a donor on time, and he thought Ansa was his only hope. 

A mother of three boys, Ansa met with Femi in her house. She listened as the man told her tales of his struggle. How much he had spent on getting donors but the kidneys failing to match. He had run out of money.

She agreed to help him scale through that phase of life and on February 25, 2019, Ansa landed at Saint Nicholas Hospital, Lagos with Femi.

Doctors trying to stabilise her

The procedure began in earnest. For three weeks, she kept going to the hospital for various screenings to ensure that she was capable of donating her kidney and importantly that her kidney is suitable for the ailing man.

But in the third week, the doctors detected that her condition, too, is as critical as that of the friend she had come to help – and the willing helper started seeking assistance.

It is a year since she was diagnosed, and now, the doctors say surgery is necessary to repair the ASD to prevent complications. 

“Doctors told me this morning that I don’t have more time,” Ansa told TheCable over the phone on Tuesday. 

“I had earlier done a series of tests, and doctors say if we don’t do the surgery now, we would have to run those tests again and these cost a lot.” 

 The 38-year-old graduate of the Lagos State University feels her condition might get worse if the surgery is not done immediately. 

She can be reached on +2348066991353.