Gabriel Onogwu, 20, from Benue, has become a symbol of hope for failing kidneys across the country, after successfully undergoing a transplant.
Gabriel Onogwu, 20, from Benue, has become a symbol of hope for failing kidneys across the country, after successfully undergoing a transplant.
His surgery in December is the first recorded in Abuja, done by a team of surgeons at View Point Hospital, a private clinic in the suburb of Gwarimpa. Gabriel’s transplant was funded by Nafs Kidney Foundation, a philanthropic group run by Suleiman Sulu-Gambari.
For days after the surgery, he walked around with a mask across his nose to ward off germs that could compromise his immune system and force his body to reject the kidney donated by his elder brother.
Weeks later, the SS3 student of GSS, Karu is out of hospital and attempting to return to what his life was before his surgery.
“I feel great, normal, just the way I used to feel before the kidney failure,” he says. This time his mask is off as he speaks to Daily Trust. But the reporter who met him had a nose mask on. “I am very, very happy to have my life back.”
Millions more Nigerians are not so lucky. Today it certain that there is Hope For Nigeria.