November 18, 2016 - 15:59 AMT
Indians offer kidneys to ailing Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj

Many Indians are offering to donate their kidneys to Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj after she tweeted she was undergoing tests for a transplant, BBC News reports.

The 64-year-old minister has a history of chronic diabetes and was admitted to a Delhi hospital earlier this month.

Swaraj is one the most high-profile ministers in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet.

On Tuesday, November 15 she tweeted that she was undergoing dialysis after kidney failure.

Unlike many other types of organ donation, it is possible to donate a kidney while still alive because humans only need one kidney to survive.

Social media users responded quickly by offering to donate their own kidneys to Swaraj, with some providing their personal phone numbers.

Swaraj has not responded individually to the offers, but expressed her gratitude to "friends" who had offered to donate their kidneys.

She tweeted: "I have no words to express my deep sense of gratitude towards them."

The foreign minister is known for reacting quickly to calls for help from Indians living or travelling abroad. Earlier this month, she helped a Pakistani bride obtain a visa to attend her wedding in India.