Organ donation is an emotionally wrenching decision for any family that has lost its loved one. One such decision taken by the family of Vijay Menon, after the 62-year-old was declared brain dead on Wednesday, has given a new lease of life to five people fighting terminal illnesses.
According to a press release by Dr Swadesh Kumar, Medical Superintendent at Narayana Superspeciality Hospital Gurugram, Menon reached the hospital “in an almost unconscious state, complaining of severe headache” on May 1.
The doctors transferred him to the ICU following a CT scan, but his brain ceased functioning hours later due to spontaneous intracranial haemorrhage.
Recognising him as a potential donor, Menon’s family was informed and counselled about organ donation. The family decided to go ahead with organ donation and ended up saving the lives of five people.
Recalling her father as a selfless man, Menon’s daughter said he would have cherished his family’s decision of donating his organs and giving life to other people even after his death.
The donated organs–liver, kidneys, heart, and cornea–will be transplanted at government and private hospitals in coordination with the National Organ & Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO).
The organs were transferred through NOTTO to different hospitals via a green corridor set up with the support of the traffic police, state police and authorities.
The liver was successfully transplanted to a 22-year-old girl suffering from Wilson’s disease at the same hospital.
“The girl, from Bhubaneswar, had been suffering since childhood because of which she had to be home-schooled. This transplant brings new hope for her,” said Dr Kumar.
The kidney was transferred to Delhi-based Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute using the green corridor. The same night, it was successfully transplanted into a 20-year-old girl named Shivani who had been on dialysis for the past five years.
“Shivani is currently in stable condition and is expected to be discharged from the hospital within a week,” Dr Rajesh Aggarwal, Chief of Kidney Transplant at Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute, said.
India has one of the lowest organ donation rates per million population. It stands around 0.4 per million population, whereas the rate exceeds 40-45 per million population in several countries, including Spain, US and Croatia.
India does not register donations made by more than 1,000 people every year, but these donations are expected to increase this year due to increasing awareness.
According to government data, in 2020, around 6,459 organs were donated by living donors, and 1,060 organs were donated by deceased donors. In 2022, 12,791 organs were donated by living donors, whereas 904 organs were donated by deceased donors.
Read all the Latest India News and Karnataka Elections 2023 updates here
Comments
0 comment