'He Is My Life': Mother Gives Part Of Her Liver To Save 17-Year-Old Son in Mumbai

37-year-old Renu Khanna donated a part of her liver to save her 17-year-old son Armaan, who was battling acute liver failure at Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai. With doctors warning he had very little time left, Renu stepped forward without hesitation. 

There are moments inside hospital corridors that split life into a before and after. Not the diagnosis. Not even the surgery. But the instant someone looks a doctor in the eye and says, “Test me. I want to give him part of my liver.”

That was 37-year-old Renu Khanna. Her 17-year-old son, Armaan, had suddenly been pushed into a battle against acute liver failure. One day he was a teenager planning his future, attending school and living an ordinary life. The next, doctors warned he may only have a day or two left.

Renu did not hesitate.

As Armaan’s condition spiralled rapidly, his mother sat beside him at Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai. Acute liver failure at 17 is devastating enough, but in India — where cadaver organ donations remain painfully scarce — survival often depends on finding a living donor in time.

The liver had already begun shutting down completely. Toxins were building up. Vital proteins were no longer being produced. Once severe cirrhosis replaces healthy tissue with scar tissue, medicines can no longer reverse the damage. A transplant becomes the only hope.

Renu stepped forward for testing.

Within just 24 hours, doctors cleared her for donation after evaluating blood group compatibility, liver volume, overall health and psychological readiness. The transplant team led by Dr. Guruprasad Shetty moved swiftly, knowing every passing hour mattered.

Doctors removed Armaan’s failing liver and replaced it with a donated segment from his mother. Then came the miracle unique to the human liver — regeneration. Over the coming months, both mother and son’s livers would regrow close to normal size and function, giving them both a second chance at life.

A mother chose to risk her own life so her son could live.

“When it came to saving my son’s life, there were no second thoughts. He is my life. What gave me strength was knowing we were in the right hands. Dr. Guruprasad Shetty and the entire liver transplant team at Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai made sure no stone was left unturned to save my son. Because of them, my son is alive today, and that is everything,” she told TOI Health.

Renu admits she was terrified — and that honesty makes her courage even more powerful.

“I won't say I wasn't scared. I was,” she said. “But the doctors here made sure I understood every step.”

Inside the operating theatre, doctors carried the burden of two lives — the teenager fighting for survival and the mother who willingly walked in to save him. The surgery succeeded.

Today, Armaan is slowly returning to the life every 17-year-old deserves — focusing on his education, his dreams and the future that once seemed to be slipping away. Renu, too, recovered gradually, her body rebuilding what she had given away.

But beyond the scars and recovery lies something deeper: the quiet peace of a mother who did whatever it took to save her child.

At the centre of this emotional story is one undeniable truth. A boy was running out of time. His mother had something he needed. She gave it without hesitation.

And for Renu Khanna, “that is everything.”