In death, 33-year-old accident victim gives new lease of life to five patients

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 21

A family of 33-year-old Pawan from Saketri (Panchkula) has donated his organs following his tragic demise.

A 34-year-old man underwent a simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplant, while a 36-year-old woman received the second kidney of Pawan, both at the PGI, significantly improving their quality of life. Two corneal blind patients regained their sight through corneal transplants performed at PGI.

One heart, for which no matching recipient was found locally, was airlifted to New Delhi for a successful transplant at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) with the assistance of the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO). Pawan suffered severe head injuries in an accident on March 14 and was admitted to the PGI in an extremely critical condition. Despite medical efforts, he was declared brain dead on March 19.

“Our tragedy is too gruesome to be put in words. My husband was the ray of life for me. But now, our world is completely doomed. Maybe God has taken my husband, because others were to live through his organs,” said Pawan’s wife.

Explaining the allocation of the retrieved organs, Prof Vipin Koushal, Medical Superintendent, PGI, & Nodal Officer, Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (North) stated, “As the cross-matching indicated no recipient for heart at the PGI, we immediately got in touch with other transplant hospitals to explore options for matching recipients and finally, the heart was allocated to a 18-year-old boy admitted to AIIMS in New Delhi, with the intervention of NOTTO.”

Professor Koushal said, “To ensure safe and speedy transport of the harvested heart, a green corridor was created in conjunction with the retrieval timings till the international airport, Mohali, from where it was airlifted by an 11 am flight on March 20 for New Delhi.”

A noble gesture

Our tragedy is too gruesome to be put in words. My husband was a ray of life for me. But now, our world is completely doomed. Maybe God has taken my husband because others were to live through his organs. — Pawan’s wife

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