A 500kg (1,102lb) woman is preparing to fly to India in the next 10 days to receive weight reduction surgery.

Eman Ahmed Adb El Aty, 36, will be transported from Egypt to Mumbai on a chartered plane where bariatric surgeon Dr Muffazal Lakdawala will perform surgery free of charge.

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At first, Abd El Aty's visa request was denied, but Lakdawala came to learn about her plight and personally appealed to India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Twitter, who was prompt to respond. "We will definitely help her," she replied.

Abd El Aty's family say she has barely left her bedroom, where she has been trapped, for almost 25 years – and estimate her weight at 500kg. Lakdawala told the BBC he thinks she weighs at least 450kg.

Determined to save her, the doctor even started a fundraising initiative to fly Abd El Aty to India, where he plans to dramatically reduce her weight to below 100kg. "She is battling with her life every single day," said Lakdawala.

"Right now she is like a living bombshell, which could blow up on her any moment," he added.

According to her family, Abd El Aty has suffered from a thyroid problem since childhood and they say she weighed five kilograms at birth. At 11-years-old, she started to gain weight.

Her younger sister, Shaimaa Ahmed, described how her sibling began using her knees to move around as she became unable to support her weight. "She would use her knees to reach the car in the parking lot and we would drive her across Alexandria and the coast without leaving the car," she told CNN.

"She wasn't able to walk properly and there was no wheelchair to fit her size."

But in the face of such difficult challenges, Abd El Aty always maintained a positive outlook. "She has always had hope that she would lose weight and get better," she said.

Reflecting on Lakdawala's gesture, Shaimaa said: "Eman's case needs a huge amount of money."

She added: "I'm very grateful to Dr Muffazal for offering to fly Eman to India on a private medical plane."

Lakdawala said that due to the level of risk involved in the procedure, "all precautions" will be taken. Taking into account any cultural differences, the surgeon also confirmed that Abd El Aty will be looked after by an all-female team and he will be the sole male operating on her.

Obesity India Egypt