Free Parasite Eve by Hideaki Sena Page B

donor’s kidney. Now he remembered how
hot the donor’s husband’s hand had seemed when he’d shaken it. Had the man been
prey to a similar bout? What’s going on here? Yoshizumi found it hard to
keep his focus on the operation for some time.
        The kidney was still set in
its container. While transporting it to the CCH, any changes in the kidney’s
perfusion status or mass were recorded by the machine. Yoshizumi had already
examined these readings before beginning the operation to see that there were
no anomalies. He asked for the current stats just to make sure. The perfusion
volume was at a viable 117 ml per minute.
        Yoshizumi and his assistants
took the kidney from the container and started on the blood vessels. First,
Mariko’s inner iliac artery had to be attached to the kidney artery. The
procedure required the utmost care. Working closely together with the first
assistant, who stood across from him on the other side of the patient,
Yoshizumi joined the blood vessels at their severed ends with two strands of
surgical thread. These held the arteries together while they performed a more
complete suture, rotating the operating table to provide the best angle at each
point. None of the vessels in the kidney had hardened, so there was no fear
that the inner membrane would peel off. When this was finally done, an
assistant slowly lowered the kidney into the body cavity. An involuntary sigh
of relief escaped Yoshizumi.
        The position of Mariko’s
pelvic vein matched up well with the kidney’s. Yoshizumi checked to see that the
vessels weren’t twisted
        or folded in any way, and
picked a spot where they would join. First applying a couple of forceps just
below it, he opened a hole in the patient’s vein. After cleansing the inside of
the vessel, he and his assistant passed the needle back and forth once again to
complete the procedure.
        He signaled with his eye to
the assistant, who nodded and began removing the forceps, first from the outer
iliac artery, then moving on to those near the vein tips, and finally to the
main arterial clamp.
        As blood flowed into the
kidney, some seeped out of the needle hole where the renal artery had been
joined, but it soon stopped after some pressure was applied. The transplanted
kidney accepted Mariko’s blood and everyone watched as it reddened and regained
surface tension. Yoshizumi rubbed it to encourage circulation. He had witnessed
this scene numerous times in his career, but never had he seen such dramatic
revival. The organ appeared literally to be coming back to life in Mariko’s body.
        Just then, urine spurted from
the ureter. An assistant hurriedly picked it up with a forcep and caught the
urine in a saucer. This type of discharge was common enough with transplants
from living donors and usually came a few minutes after the blood vessels were
connected. It almost never occurred, however, with kidneys of a lower
viability. Yoshizumi, who had performed nothing but kidney transplants at the
CCH, had never seen such a healthy discharge in an organ from a dead donor. He
had no doubts that this transplant would be a complete success.
        Just then.
        He looked up with a jolt.
        Again. That heat.
        He could hear his own pulse
throbbing in his ears. Something was manipulating his heart. The heat. It felt
like he was on fire.
        Yoshizumi started to pant.
Everyone appeared blissfully unaffected as before and he tolerated his agony
alone with all his might. What the hell is this? he thought to himself.
Of course he had no answer. Why? The heat returned just after blood
began flowing through the kidney. It’s almost as if...
        Thinking that much, he shot a
gaze at the kidney.
        He refused to believe it. He
denied even entertaining the possibility. It was madness. He shook his head. He
couldn’t afford to lose it just yet. The operation wasn’t quite over; the
ureter still had to be sewn