The Australian government is now operating in accordance with the Guidance on Caretaker Conventions, pending the outcome of the 2025 federal election.
Aru is a bright, happy and energetic 8-year-old with a big personality. Her favourite school subject is physical education, and she loves arts and crafts – she wants to be an artist when she grows up. You’d never guess that Aru has, in her short life, already faced life-threatening health problems and had a heart transplant.
Born in perfect health, Aru was 6 months old when a family friend noticed her heart was beating faster than normal, and encouraged Aru’s parents, Smital and Kiran, to take her to the doctor. Their GP sent the young family straight to Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH), where they were told that she was in end-stage heart failure. Aru had contracted a virus that meant that her heart was so dilated and weak, it couldn’t pump blood around her body properly. Her only option was a heart transplant.
Life at the RCH became the new normal for Aru, Smital and Kiran. Aru was monitored and kept stable while waiting for a donor heart. After 7 months, a donor was found, and Aru received a precious and life-saving transplant.
Aru’s transplant operation was a success. She was soon recovering and seeing a physiotherapist, speech pathologist and occupational therapist, adapting to her new heart. She learned how to walk, talk and eat, but mum Smital felt that something wasn’t quite right. Aru was diagnosed with post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD), a precancerous condition that can affect patients who have had an organ transplant.
Aru received treatment at the RCH once more, this time in the oncology ward. Unfortunately, Aru battled PTLD two more times following the initial diagnoses, but each time has finished treatment and gone into remission.
With viral myocarditis, dilated cardiomyopathy, her heart transplant and PTLD behind her, Aru is now thriving. She was incredibly excited to recently travel to India to meet extended family for the very first time.
Smital says of her family’s experience: ‘You never know the importance of organ donation until you or your loved one need it. We are forever grateful to our donor family for giving Aru a second chance at life.’
