Declared brain dead, two give fresh lease of life to 11

Chandigarh, August 24

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Families of a dead 15-year-old girl and a dead 60-year-old man gave a new lease of life to seven terminally ill organ-failure patients and four corneal blind patients by consenting for organ donation.

Basu (15) of Ganda Kheri village, Rajpura, was injured in an accident and rushed to the PGI on August 15. She was declared brain dead on August 21. The other donor, a 60-year-old man from SBS Nagar (Nawanshahr), had met with an accident and was declared brain dead on August 22.

“The spirit of giving by the donor families has touched everyone. It is crucial for all to understand that even in times of grief, one positive response, too, can change the lives of multiple strangers and bring a smile to many faces. It was a very courageous decision taken by the donor families of the deceased even as they were grieving the sudden demise of their dear ones,” said Prof Vivek Lal, Director, PGI.

Following the consent of Basu’s family, the process of the retrieval of the organs was initiated. As there was no matching recipients for heart here in the PGI, the Regional Organ & Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO), PGI, approached the National Organ & Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) in Delhi and accordingly with NOTTO’s intervention, Basu’s heart was allocated to Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi, for the matching recipient and was sent through a green corridor for International Airport, from where it was airlifted through 8.30 pm flight on August 21 for New Delhi.

The retrieved liver, kidneys, pancreas of Basu saved the lives of three recipients in the PGI and the harvested corneas restored the sight of two more, thereby touching six lives in all. The retrieved kidneys and corneas, from the donor from SBS Nagar (Nawanshahr), were transplanted in matching recipients at the PGI. The retrieved liver was allocated for a matching recipient admitted to SDM Hospital, Jaipur, with the intervention of NOTTO and was sent from PGI through a green corridor.