‘Gift of life’ to organ failure patients at PGIMER

“Since our son, all of 19, met with the fatal accident on 10 June, we were at his bedside praying for a miracle to happen. But who could have imagined that our dear son was to be the miracle? He became a miracle to all those who got another chance at life because of my son’s organ donation,” stated the grief-stricken father of a 19-year-old boy who lost his life in Chandigarh last week. The man’s statements came after handing over the mortal remains of his deceased son to the mortuary at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER).
As a result of the donor family’s decision, three terminally ill persons suffering organ failure were given a new lease of life. One person successfully underwent heart transplantation in a New Delhi hospital, the second received a renal transplant and the third underwent a simultaneous liver and kidney transplant at PGIMER. The institute’s director, Prof. Vivek Lal stated that the cadaver organ donation is the epitome of magnanimity, considering the donor family’s act of courage and generosity to put their own grief aside and make a difference in the lives of others. The teenager lost his life on June 10 when he hit his head on a road after his two-wheeler lost balance and skid. The grievously injured youth was first rushed to a local hospital and later transferred to PGIMER. Unfortunately, the boy suffered brain death on 13 June and all efforts to revive him proved futile.
The teen’s family was later approached by the institute’s transplant coordinators to request if they would consider organ donation. “We did not know anything about organ donation. But once we understood that our decision can help save many lives, we decided to go ahead. The only thought in our minds was that our decision may turn lucky for someone else and they get more time to spend with their dear one,” the boy’s father said. Following the father’s consent, the heart, both kidneys and liver were harvested from the deceased. Once the donor organs became available, the transplant team jumped into action. As the cross-matching indicated no matching recipient for the heart in PGIMER, immediately ROTTO (North) got in touch with other transplant hospitals to explore options for matching recipients, and finally, the heart was allocated for a 55-year-old male matching recipient with refractory heart failure admitted in a private hospital in New Delhi.