Belarusian Emigrant Gives Husband a Kidney to Save Him

Siarhei and Alena Khvastsenok, along with their two daughters, moved from Belarus to Poland for political reasons.

"We were forced to leave our native Polotsk for Gdańsk because my husband was persecuted by the authorities in our homeland. He worked at 'Naftan' and was a member of the opposition organization 'Movement for Freedom' for over 10 years. He was detained three times. He served 15 days for a sticker with the 'Pahonia' (Coat of Arms) emblem. For reposting a 'Belsat' news item about the 2014 World Ice Hockey Championship — 10 days. And for a photo with a white-red-white flag — 25 days," Alena told "Bysol".

"In November 2022, security forces came to Siarhei's mother's house, where he was registered, for a search. She managed to warn us. My husband packed in 10 minutes and left the country. In the evening, the security forces came to us, and I learned that he was accused under five articles of the Criminal Code, including insulting the authorities, a judge, defamation, and threatening violence against an internal affairs officer."

Six months later, the woman and her two daughters moved to Poland to join her husband. Siarhei worked as a taxi driver, she as an accountant.

In October last year, Siarhei was starting a new job and undergoing a medical examination. The doctor was shocked to see his blood pressure readings — 250 over 160. "I don't understand how you even walked in here," she said and sent him to a family doctor. That doctor sent him to an ambulance, and from there he was hospitalized.

"It turned out that both of my husband's kidneys were practically not working, due to which he could die if nothing was done," Alena describes.

"What I felt when I found out about this cannot be put into words. I was in shock, hysterical, and crying. But I don't cry in front of my husband and family. I always say: these are temporary difficulties, everything will be fine for us."

Siarhei was offered dialysis.

"But that means disability and practically minimal chances of finding a job: three times a week, you have to sit in the hospital for four hours. And the life expectancy of people on dialysis is relatively low. And I want my husband to live!

Since we have the same blood groups, I decided to become a donor for Siarhei. I took the necessary analyses and tests. It turned out my kidney is suitable for him.

While I was undergoing examinations, I was laid off from my job. Now I am looking for a new one, but it hasn't worked out yet. So, at the moment, we live only on my husband's earnings — he moonlights as a taxi driver in his free time from hospital visits.

Doctors are monitoring his condition, and tests show that it is still borderline, and he can manage without dialysis for now (an organism that has not been on dialysis better accepts a transplanted organ).

An operation awaits us. It has been scheduled for March. If all goes well, my rehabilitation will take a month, and my husband's — three."

During this time, the family will not be able to work and therefore asks for help to get by. They have opened a fundraiser on "Bysol" — for rent, groceries, and medications (a total of 4800 euros).

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