Declared brain dead, Gurgaon woman saves 3 lives by donating her kidneys & liver

PTI, Sep 23, 2021, 9:50 AM IST

Gurugram: A 44-year-old woman from Gurgaon gave a new lease of life to three persons on Wednesday, after doctors transplanted in them the liver and kidneys harvested from her, while both her corneas were sent to an eye bank in Delhi, hospital authorities said. This move by the family of the woman whose organs were donated is a “progressive step” at a time of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the organ donation “numbers are plummeting”, they said.

The woman, who was admitted to the Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI) in Gurgaon on the night of September 15 was declared brain dead the next day, a spokesperson of the facility said. On evaluation, there was evidence of major bleeding in her brain and despite the best efforts of the neurosurgical team, she could not be revived, and was declared brain dead. The family, despite their hour of grief, decided to donate her organs and corneas, according to Dr Om Prakash, consultant, neuro-anaesthesia, FMRI.

The family of the patient consented to donate her organs. The National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) allocated the organs to three separate recipients — two waitlisted recipients at the Fortis hospital, Gurgaon received the liver and a kidney, while a recipient at a leading private hospital in Delhi received the second kidney — the FMRI said in a statement. One kidney and liver were transplanted at FMRI, Gurgaon in a 38-year-old woman and a 52-year-old man respectively. The second kidney was allotted and transplanted into a 43-year-old woman in Delhi. Both corneas were sent to an eye bank, it said.

Dr Avnish Seth, principal director, gastroenterology and hepatobiliary sciences at the FMRI and director, Fortis Organ Retrieval and Transplant (FORT), said, “More than 700 families stepped forth to donate the organs of their loved ones in the country in 2019. There has been a 70-per cent fall in organ and tissue donations worldwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic.” Strict Covid-free pathways were followed, the doctor said.