The Bhutanese Leading the way.
For patients living with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), a kidney transplant can offer hope for a better quality of life, but finding a suitable donor remains a major challenge.
For those who depend on regular dialysis, the illness brings not only physical exhaustion, but also financial hardship and uncertainty about the future.
In Thimphu, Dhan Maya Mongar, 30, has spent the past six years living with CKD and going to the hospital twice a week for dialysis while struggling to support her two daughters and meet her family’s daily expenses.
Dhan Maya and her husband live in a modest wooden house in Changzamtog, behind the Bhutan Kidney Foundation. Her husband works as a daily wage labourer to support the family.
Speaking to The Bhutanese, she said, “I face many difficulties, including paying house rent and sending money to support my two daughters, who are still studying. We depend entirely on my husband’s salary.”
Her illness has affected not only her health but also her family’s financial stability. With her husband as the sole earner, the family must manage daily living expenses alongside the demands of her ongoing treatment. Supporting her daughters’ education while living away from them adds another dimension to the challenges she faces.
For Dhan Maya, managing kidney disease is not just about undergoing dialysis, it is also about trying to meet her responsibilities as a mother despite the limitations her condition places on her life.
Before moving to Thimphu for treatment, Dhan Maya lived in Daragon village, Tsirang, where she worked as a farmer. She was 24 when she lost both her kidneys, and her younger daughter was still a baby.
Seeking treatment meant leaving both her daughters behind. Today, her elder daughter is in Class V and her younger daughter is in Class II. Separated from them, Dhan Maya said she deeply misses her children, who are growing up while she remains in Thimphu to manage her illness.
Her condition has also limited her ability to work and carry out daily activities. “Living with kidney disease means I cannot do heavy daily work,” she said. “I also have to limit my water intake and eat less,” she added.
For someone who once worked as a farmer, the inability to do heavy work represents a significant change in her daily life. Her illness has restricted not only her physical activities but also her ability to earn an income, leaving her dependent on her husband’s wages while living apart from her daughters.
She also experiences shortness of breath and fluctuations in her blood pressure, adding to the difficulties of living with kidney disease. Alongside managing her health, she continues to face financial challenges, particularly in meeting daily household expenses.
She said she needs additional support to manage these costs.
The Bhutan Kidney Foundation has been providing her with essential supplies, including 25 kilograms of rice every two months, one and a half liters of cooking oil, bedsheets, laundry detergent and dishwashing liquid.
On 15th October, the RTC Y-VIA team also sponsored a television for her household.
Despite these difficulties, Dhan Maya continues to hope for a future in which she can contribute to her family’s livelihood.
She has not been able to find a suitable kidney donor. She said that in some cases, potential donors were not a match, while in others, financial constraints stood in the way.
She said, “If I can find a donor in the future, I want to open a small grocery shop so that I can support my husband and my two daughters.”
For Dhan Maya, finding a suitable donor remains a hope she has held on to for six years, alongside her wish to regain some independence and help support her daughters.
