Baglung Man Becomes International Sports Player After Kidney Transplant

Kathmandu. A youth born in a simple village of Baglung is now recognized as a player who has won medals in international sports competitions.

A few years ago, struggling between life and death on a hospital bed, he succeeded in winning medals by leaving behind many competitors from abroad due to his strong belief and willpower.

The life journey of Harinarayan Sharma of Jaimini Municipality-1, Kushmisera, is an inspiring story of struggle, courage, gratitude, hope, and rebirth.

Sometimes in life, such difficult moments come when all dreams seem broken, the future looks dark, and even the hope of living starts to fade. But amidst that darkness, a small ray of hope can make life bright again.

The only son of his parents among five sisters, he was interested in social work from a young age. He was actively involved in village, school, and various social activities and could easily mingle with people of all age groups. He was also good at studies.

For the future of his family and the education of his children, he was working in graphic designing in the private sector in Kathmandu.

Gradually, his body started weakening, and problems like swelling in his hands and feet, dizziness, nausea, and extreme fatigue began to appear.

Upon examination at the hospital, doctors advised him to prepare for dialysis or kidney transplantation as soon as possible due to serious problems in both kidneys.

He recalls, “At that moment, it felt like life had ended. I couldn’t think, speak, or understand anything. I slowly walked out of the OPD.”

At that time, among the relatives of patients waiting for their turn in the hospital and OPD, mostly negative things were heard – it is difficult to treat such a disease, it costs a lot, transplantation is not successful, death is easier than life. Such things made patients like him mentally weaker.

Sometimes he even thought that it would be less troublesome for the family if he could die easily, he says.

He did not have the courage to ask questions openly to the doctor or to understand the possibilities of life after treatment.

The advice given by senior doctor Dr. Rishikumar Kafle, “You can do well even after transplantation. There is a good hospital in India, I will recommend it for treatment at a low cost,” gave him hope to live.

At that time, Nepal did not have transplantation facilities other than dialysis.

He went to Kovai Medical Hospital in Coimbatore, India, in hope of a new life.

His kidney transplantation was successfully completed on March 23, 2006 (Bikram Sambat). He was 28 years old at that time.

Many people helped in his treatment.

The treatment was possible only because of the small contributions of many people, and even the children from school who saved from their snack money helped.

A person at the end of life can regain the strength to live and find hope with a positive attitude and a small help.

With the support of his family and the efforts of the doctors, his kidney transplantation was successful.

After the transplantation, the doctors advised him to exercise regularly.

Social Service and Public Awareness Campaign After transplantation, Sharma did not limit his life to personal struggle alone.

He started a campaign to spread the message that one can live a healthy, successful, and active life even after organ donation and transplantation.

In 2010, along with some friends, he started the ‘Kidney Walk’ program for the first time in Nepal for Nepal Transplant Games and kidney health and organ donation awareness.

These programs are still being continuously conducted by various organizations.

Since 2010, he has been conducting public awareness programs on organ donation and kidney health in various places and schools across the country.

Since 2011, he has been active as a ‘World Kidney Day Champion’.

In 2022, he represented Nepal in the ‘Global Organ Donation Ambassador Campaign’ organized by the ‘World Transplant Games Federation’ at the Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland.

In 2023, he played the role of team manager to facilitate the participation of five transplant athletes from Nepal in the World Transplant Games competition held in Perth, Australia.

The participating Nepali athletes, with the support of Arogya Foundation and other organizations, succeeded in winning seven medals.

In 2023, he participated in the first ‘Petanque Transplant Asian Open Championship’ held in Bangkok, Thailand.

He has been working as the founder and general secretary of the Nepal Transplant Sports Association, established three years ago, and works as a team manager for the ‘World Transplant Games Federation’ from Nepal.

He brought glory to the country at the international level by winning one gold medal and one silver medal in the second Petanque Transplant Asian Open Championship held in Bangkok, Thailand, from April 29 to May 3, 2026.

In the competition, which was attended by 85 transplant athletes from Australia, Bhutan, China, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Malaysia, Nepal, and Thailand, he succeeded in winning the gold medal in Men's Singles (Nations Group) and the silver medal in Mixed Doubles (Nations Group).

His achievement is not just a victory in sports but also a powerful awareness message for society.

It has proven that organ donation and transplantation can give people a new life, new hope, and opportunities to contribute actively to society and the nation.

His journey has become an inspiration for thousands of patients waiting for organ transplants and for those who are returning to life after transplantation, says Harinarayan Gautam, a media person from Baglung.

The human organ transplantation service, which started in Nepal in 2008, has been making significant progress.

Currently, kidney and liver transplantation services are expanding in various cities across the country, including Kathmandu.

The success rate of transplantation in Nepal has reached a level comparable to developed countries, and the cost is also considered relatively low.

He expresses happiness that the Government of Nepal is trying to provide subsidized and free transplantation services through government hospitals.

However, he states that expensive lifelong medications, treatment, and testing costs continue to cause difficulties for poor and low-income patients.

According to him, although dialysis services are expanding up to district hospitals, the lack of skilled manpower remains a challenge.

Many patients in Nepal are still forced to wait due to a lack of organ donors.

He says that there is a need to make organ donation awareness more widespread.

He says, “One brain-dead person can give new life to up to eight people. Organ donation is the greatest humanitarian service in the world.”

He suggests that the legal provisions should be made easier for individuals from outside who wish to donate organs voluntarily to save someone's life without any financial temptation.

He believes that making the health insurance system simple and hassle-free, providing health insurance facilities from any hospital in Nepal, and providing simple, easy, and free medicines and treatment to dialysis and transplant patients would facilitate the treatment of such complex patients.

Suggestions for a Healthy Life After Transplantation

He has suggested that for a healthy, active, and successful life after transplantation, one should regularly take medicines on time, undergo regular health check-ups, include exercise, sports, yoga, meditation, pranayama, and prayer in daily life, follow the doctor's advice, avoid other infections, consume pure water and fresh food, be very active in social, family, and spiritual activities, try to stay mentally, physically, and spiritually healthy, and maintain a positive outlook.

According to him, the love, support, goodwill, blessings, and prayers of the family make the patient strong from within.

Even now, he is active in the campaign to spread the message that a healthy, active, and positive life can be lived even after transplantation.

“I want to give the message that life does not end after kidney transplantation,” he says.

His campaign that life is beautiful, active, and meaningful even after transplantation, as organ donation is life donation, continues.

Sharma's life story is not just a success in sports, but a story of hope, courage, and rebirth.

It can be learned from him that even in difficult circumstances, with self-confidence and continuous effort, even seemingly impossible goals can be achieved.