Brain-dead toddler turns saviour for 3

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 25

Anand, a three-year-old boy from Asron village near Kurali, who was declared brain dead, has given a fresh lease of life to three persons, one at Delhi and two at the PGIMER here.

The boy’s father, Rohit Kumar, agreed to donate the organs of the toddler, which helped save lives of three end-stage organ failure patients.

It was on August 20 that Anand was busy playing with kids from the neighbourhood and while running after one, he slipped suddenly and rolled down a flight of stairs, becoming unconscious.

He was rushed to a nearby hospital in Kurali and later to the GMSH-16 where doctors referred him to the PGIMER.

However, Anand was declared brain dead at the PGIMER on Friday evening.

In the face of the tragedy, his parents gave their consent to transplant coordinators for donating Anand’s organs. “I thought if we could save someone else from going through this. Knowing that Anand’s life will go on in others and will give them more days with their families is so satisfying,” said Rohit Kumar. 

Prof Vipin Koushal, Nodal Officer, Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO), PGIMER, shared, “After completing the formalities for transplant, we secured the boy’s liver and kidneys. A cross-matching indicated that there was no matching recipient for liver at the PGIMER. We immediately got in touch with the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation to explore options with other hospitals to find a matching recipient. Finally, the liver was allocated to the ILBS, New Delhi.”

Prof Koushal said, “It was literally a race against time. There is no flight for Delhi from Chandigarh after 6 pm. So, we had to rush with procedural formalities, harvesting process as well as transportation of the organ to the international airport for sending it to Delhi via a Jet Airways flight scheduled for 4.45 pm. Hats off to the efforts of all officials concerned for creating a green corridor which helped save the life of a three-year-old terminally ill girl at the ILBS, New Delhi. The harvested kidneys were transplanted in two patients at the PGI — a four-year-old and a 24-year-old — giving them a fresh lease of life.