Organ donation: In death, woman gives life to two

Ravinder Saini

Rohtak, April 21

In a noble gesture, the family of a 60-year-old woman decided to donate her organs to save the lives of two other people after she was declared brain dead at the PGIMS here.

Dist police provide green corridor

After removing an organ from the body, there is a limited period of a few hours within which it has to be transplanted into another body, otherwise it suffers irreparable damage. The district police were contacted to help provide a green corridor from Rohtak to Delhi. With their help the ambulance reached Delhi from here in less than two hours. — Dr SS Lohchab, PGIMS-ROhtak DIrector

The woman was admitted to the PGIMS after she suffered a brain haemorrhage. A team of doctors led by neurosurgeon Dr Ishwar Singh extended their best possible treatment but could not save her.

“Thereafter, Dr Ishwar alerted the Death Certificate Committee. PGIMS Director Dr SS Lohchab and Medical Superintendent (MS) Dr Kundal Mittal formed a committee for clinical examination and other tests to determine the exact condition of the patient’s brain. The committee also found her to be brain dead,” said a PGIMS official.

He said the woman’s family members, comprising her husband, a retired colonel, were then made aware of the situation and urged to donate the patient’s organs to save other lives. The family graciously decided to donate her kidneys, liver, lungs and eyes to keep her memories alive. On getting their consent, the institutions concerned were informed and teams of various hospitals reached the PGIMS to obtain the organs for further transplant surgeries. The liver, kidney and eyes of the woman were donated, but the lungs could not be donated as they were not found compatible with any patient, he said.

Dr Lohchab said: “Teams from Bengaluru and New Delhi arrived here to collect the organs. After removing an organ from the body, there is a limited period of a few hours within which it has to be transplanted into another body, otherwise it suffers irreparable damage. The district police were also contacted to help provide a green corridor from Rohtak to Delhi with immediate effect,” he added.

Dr Lohchab said: “Sometimes it takes around 3 to 4 hours to reach Delhi from PGIMS-Rohtak, but with the help of Rohtak police, the ambulance reached Delhi from here with the liver in less than two hours.”

MS Dr Mittal said both the kidneys were transplanted into the same patient in PGIMS for medical reasons.

Dr Anit Saxena, Vice-Chancellor, University of Health Sciences, said the family had shown exemplary spirit by donating the patient’s organs as it would provide life to other people.