Western India’s youngest organ donor saves 2 lives
Five people from Mumbai and one from Surat got a new lease of life on Tuesday after the families of a 15-month-old Surat boy and 45-year-old Mumbai woman decided to donate their organs. The two heart transplants, performed at an interval of 90 minutes, also involved the youngest organ donor from western India — Somnath Shah [15 months].
Counsellors said convincing the Shahs was difficult, as Somnath was their only son. The toddler was declared brain dead two days after an accident at his residence. He sustained a head injury after slipping off the stairs.
“We approached his father, Sunil, and told him that finding a cadaver for children is extremely difficult. When he realised that his son could save multiple lives, the Shahs agreed to donate Somnath’s organs,” said Nilesh Mandlewala, president of Donate Life, a Gujarat-based NGO, which promotes organ donation.
Somnath’s kidneys were sent to the Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre (IKRDC), Ahmedabad, and were used to save the life of a 15-yearold boy diagnosed with kidney failure since a decade. His heart was transported to Fortis Hospital, Mulund, via commercial flight covering 331.7km in 95 minutes. “The recipient of his heart, a three-and-a-half-year-old girl from Kalamboli, Navi Mumbai, was suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy and was on the waiting list since August 2016,”said officials from the Fortis Hospital.
In the second case, organs were harvested from a 45-yearold woman admitted to JJ Hospital. The mother of two from Karjat was rushed to the hospital after she fell unconscious owing to poor blood supply to her brain. The doctors harvested liver, kidneys and heart after seeking her husband’s consent.
A team of surgeons from Fortis Hospital, Mulund, implanted her heart into a 38-year-old woman from Navi Mumbai. The organ was transported from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai in 23 minutes. The recipient was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy in June 2016 and was put on waiting list.