Mekiye Zümrüt, a 49-year-old mother of 2 boys living in Diyarbakır, southeastern Türkiye, initially took her son to sports to learn taekwondo. However, her interest was captured by kickboxing, and she decided to develop herself in that sport. She registered for kickboxing in 2008.
Attending classes on certain days of the week, Zümrüt learned kickboxing through her determination and perseverance and became a coach in 2021.
About 1.5 years ago, she donated her kidney to her 12-year-old son, Taha Zümrüt, who was diagnosed with kidney failure.
Despite people around her saying, "You can’t do this sport with one kidney," she continued to coach students at the gym. Consulting with organ transplant doctors, she maintained her coaching career with a single kidney.
Between May 14-18, she participated in the Türkiye Open World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO) World Cup held in Antalya, which featured 4,000 athletes from 41 countries. Competing in the veterans category at 55 kg, she achieved second and third place rankings.
Mekiye Zümrüt said she continues to work hard to succeed under the national team jersey.
She recalled that her son, who had heart surgery, suffered damage to both kidneys, and approximately 1.5 years ago, she donated one of her kidneys to him.
After this process, she continued her sport. Zümrüt said, "I have shown that organ transplantation is not a barrier to sports. After the transplant, I realized I could live with one kidney. I didn’t want to quit sports. My friends said, ‘You are half a person now; you can’t do this sport.’ But I proved the opposite. Even with one kidney, my whole body works, and I can do this. Meanwhile, at the gym, I especially prepare girls for competitions."
She expressed her happiness about achieving a ranking at the Antalya event and said she is continuing her efforts to be part of the national team. "As a mother, I have shown that I can do this job without neglecting my children or my students at the gym, even with one kidney. From now on, I want to wave our flag in international matches and prepare my students for championships," she added.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ramazan Danış, Head of the Organ Transplant Center at Diyarbakır Gazi Yaşargil Training and Research Hospital, said they successfully transplanted a kidney from the mother to Taha, who had kidney failure.
He noted that both mother and son are in good health after the operation and said, "When we see Mekiye, it warms our hearts. She is very healthy. She follows our instructions and her eyes are smiling because both she and her child are happy. Her happiness makes us happy as well. She is an example that disproves the idea of being ‘half a person’ after donating a kidney."
He continued, "Of course, there are risks involved in donating a kidney. Donating a kidney does not make you half a person. The greatest example is Mekiye, who became world runner-up in kickboxing. Hopefully, Mekiye will become world champion and strengthen our thesis even more. Still, kidney donors need to be more careful."