By Gugu Mbonambi
A father has given his daughter a new lease of life by donating his kidney to her.
Hlengiwe Mabaso, 28, suffered from renal failure and was sick for many years.
She was advised by doctors that she needed a new kidney to survive.
Daniel Mabaso, 53, said he couldn't sit back and watch his daughter die after doctors told the family that she needed a new kidney to live.
"My daughter had been ill for many years, but in 2007 her condition worsened. I was not going to let her die when there was a way that I could save her life.
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Doctors told me that I could have a stroke after the operation, but that was a risk I was willing to take," he said.
Mabaso said black people were not educated about kidney transplants, and children often die as a result.
"As an African, I know there are beliefs that a person cannot be cut open to have their organs removed for any reason. But I'm living proof that kidney transplants can be done," he said.
Puleng Dube, a nurse at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital's transplant unit, said they were all surprised by Mabaso's actions.
"We were very shocked that a black man had agreed to do a transplant some even let their children die," she said.
Dube said Hlengiwe was isolated after Tuesday's operation.
"All this is done to protect the patient from infection, which can cause the new kidney to be rejected by the body."
Hlengiwe said she was feeling much better and thanked her father for giving her another chance to live.
Historian Jabulani Maphalala said donating body organs was alien to African culture.
"According to African customs, donating organs is not something that we do. Our culture doesn't allow it," he said.
Maphalala said there had been no instruments to perform such surgeries in African culture "so it was just not done or spoken of in our culture".
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This article was originally published on page 3 of The Star on November 24, 2008
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