2.5-YEAR-OLD GIVES NEW LEASE OF LIFE TO FIVE PATIENTS

Parents of two-and-a-half-year-old Ananika have donated her organs, giving new life to five patients at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER).

Anaika had met with an accident in Sector 89, Mohali, on 12 December. While her mother and brother died on the spot, Anaika was rushed to SGHS Hospital Sohana, Mohali. She was later shifted to PGIMER on 15 December, where she succumbed to her injuries. The child was declared brain dead on 21 December.

Anaika’s father Amit Gupta, a businessman based in Bangalore, decided to donate her organs. He had rushed to Chandigarh after hearing about the accident. Gupta said: “I have lost everything, my wife, my son and now my daughter. My world is doomed. Can there be anything more traumatic? So, I thought if I could save someone from the pain of losing their family member with organ donation, this tragedy could serve a noble purpose of ‘giving life to others’. Although we have lost our daughter, she continues to ‘live’ in five others. It is an amazing legacy and some succour to my unbearable tragedy.”

Following Gupta’s consent, Anaika’s liver, kidneys, and corneas were retrieved at PGIMER. Since there was no matching recipient for liver here; it was allocated to a matching recipient in IKDRC, Ahmedabad, with the intervention of NOTTO.

The harvested liver was then sent from PGIMER to International AirPort Mohali in 18 minutes by creating a ‘Green Corridor’ for the GoAir airlines flight scheduled for departure at 3.35 pm yesterday. After landing at 5.35 pm in Ahmedabad, the retrieved liver was taken to IKDRC, Ahmadabad, where it was transplanted to a terminally ill seven-year-old child.

The retrieved kidneys were transplanted to the renal failure patients at PGIMER. The harvested corneas, on transplantation, restored the sight of two patients.

Surjeet Singh, Director PGIMER, said: “This noble act of the family is praiseworthy and should motivate others. Everyone must understand that even in times of grief, one positive response too can change the lives of multiple strangers and bring a smile to many faces. It was a courageous decision taken by the Gupta family even as they were grieving the demise of their daughter.”