Teen with kidney failure seeks donor, financial assistance

Years after his diagnosis and with treatment ongoing, a mother is seeking assistance for her only child, who is in need of a kidney transplant.

Kanhai Ramnarine, 19, was diagnosed with end-stage renal failure in 2018.

His mother, Yashoda Persaud, told the News Room that he was at home awaiting his Common Entrance results when he suddenly fell ill.

“Just like that, one day he got everything — fever, cold, vomiting, diarrhoea, weakness, shivering,” Persaud recalled.

Ramnarine was taken to the Suddie Hospital and was subsequently transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital. There, a series of tests was conducted and he was diagnosed.

Due to his condition, Persaud said doctors advised that Ramnarine had to start emergency dialysis or receive a transplant.
From then, his treatment commenced.

But his condition has since deteriorated, with him now requiring three sessions a week.

This has caused the family some financial strain. Persaud said the government had assisted Ramnarine with $600,000 for his treatment, but the funds have run out.
The family hails from Essequibo but has since relocated to cut costs.

“We’ve moved so many places… I try to move, and due to the dialysis he’s got a lot of different issues. He started to get seizures on the machine and so on. So much with him. He can’t travel by public transportation — I have to take a taxi to get him to treatment and back home,” Persaud told the News Room.

Ramnarine earned a spot at the Anna Regina Multilateral School but only managed to attend for three weeks before having to stop.

“He didn’t even have the strength to go. He’s usually at home. He tries to play two games on the phone and sleeps most of the time. He can’t walk long distances and so on.

“Some days, he can’t even take the dialysis. The only alternative is a transplant. A donor or whatever assistance we get — because anything and everything means a lot right now. Even prayers,” Persaud told the News Room.

Persons willing to contribute to assist Ramnarine can contact 680-2147 or 646-5107.