Organs donated by family of 14-year-old gift life to six

Aarti Gokhale, central coordinator with the Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee, Pune, told The Indian Express that this was the 14th deceased organ donation in Pune this year.

Written by Anuradha Mascarenhas

Pune | Updated: July 2, 2021 09:04 AM IST

3 min read

The boy suffered head injuries after the bike he was riding on met with a road accident. After the accident, he was admitted to Dr D Y Patil Medical College and Hospital on June 22 and declared brain dead on June 24.

A week after her 14-year-old son was declared brain dead, a grieving mother finally accepted the inevitable and agreed to donate his organs. The boy’s heart was transplanted in a 29-year-old critically ill woman at Sahyadri Hospital while four other organs — both kidneys, liver and corneas — were sent to other hospitals in Pune. The transplants were performed on Wednesday.

Aarti Gokhale, central coordinator with the Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee, Pune, told The Indian Express that this was the 14th deceased organ donation in Pune this year. “Since the second wave of the pandemic and easing of lockdown-like restrictions, this is the first heart transplant in Pune,” said Gokhale.

Brain death (also known as brain stem death) is when a person on an artificial life support machine no longer has any brain function and will not regain consciousness. A person who is brain dead is legally confirmed as dead.

The boy’s family hailed from Bihar and had lived in Pune for the last 20 years, said Mayuri Barge, transplant manager at Dr D Y Patil Medical College. After the initial shock, the boy’s family members hoped for a miracle and despite counselling, they were unwilling to accept that the he had passed away.

“… it took a week to convince the family, especially the mother, that her son was no more… and how donating his organs would help others who were critically ill and desperately needed a second chance at life,” said Barge.

Dr Manoj Durairaj, programme director for heart transplantation at Sahyadri Hospitals, said that his team went to Dr D Y Patil Medical College and Hospital, where the heart was harvested and transported via a green corridor to Sahyadri Hospital at Deccan. The recipient was a 29-year-old woman from Sangli who suffers from a rare disease called restrictive cardiomyopathy.

Story continues below this ad

“She was ailing from 2016 and her condition was deteriorating rapidly over the last few months. Heart transplant was the only option,” Dr Durairaj said.

The patient is stable and will be under observation for a few days, said Abrari Dalal, CEO of Sahyadri Hospitals, lauding the role played by the ZTCC and traffic police while creating the green corridor.

Meanwhile, one kidney was sent for a transplant to Jupiter Hospital while another kidney and liver were transplanted in a 40-year-old and 60-year-old man, respectively, at Dr D Y Patil Medical College and Hospital. Both corneas were also sent for a transplant at the same hospital.

– Stay updated with the latest Pune news. Follow Express Pune on Twitter here and on Facebook here. You can also join our Express Pune Telegram channel here.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a journalist with The Indian Express and is based in Pune. A senior editor, Anuradha writes on health, research developments in the field of science and environment and takes keen interest in covering women's issues. With a career spanning over 25 years, Anuradha has also led teams and often coordinated the edition. ... Read More

Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories

Tags:

pune

Pune: Organs donated by family of 14-year-old gift life to six

Aarti Gokhale, central coordinator with the Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee, Pune, told The Indian Express that this was the 14th deceased organ donation in Pune this year.