Pune: A 38-year-old brain-dead woman’s liver, heart, kidneys and cornea were donated. A single mother, she had a brain tumour at a highly advanced stage. The decision was made by her son to donate her vital organs to give a new lease of life to others.
The donation happened at Columbia Asia Hospital, Pune. Intensivist at the hospital Dr Anil Sonawane said that around five lakh people die annually in the country waiting for organs. However, this exceptional deed by the son had saved five lives.
It was a brave decision taken by the son, who is 17-years-old. His grandparents also agreed to this instead of burning the body. The family made a very noble decision, despite the fact that the family is from the rural area, where superstition about organ donation is rampant, said Dr Sonawane.
The liver of the patient was donated to a recipient in KEM Hospital in Pune, heart to another in Ruby Hall Clinic in Pune, a kidney to a patient in Wockhardt Hospital in Nashik, the second kidney to a recipient in Command Hospital in Pune and cornea to HV Desai Hospital in Hadapsar.
While the search for appropriate recipients was going on, the medical team did their best to keep deceased organs on proper support with careful monitoring.
Dr Sonawane added that the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) team had an understanding of family dynamics and explained the decision maker regarding organ donation.
“We counselled the patient’s family with great sensitivity in the difficult time. We facilitated the matter by obtaining consent, declaring brain stem death with the help of a committee, filling up donor protocol form, sending it to the Zonal Transplant Coordination Centre (ZTCC) for further action. Once the decision was taken by the family, we notified the ZTCC team. They, according to ROTA system and the best match, decided on the recipients from various parts of Maharashtra,” said Dr Sonwane.
He said the surgical teams from various hospitals worked together as a team for the organ transplants.
