Gujarat family turns grief into hope, donates organs of 41-year-old brain-dead woman

Ahmedabad, Aug 31 (IANS) A 41-year-old woman declared brain-dead following a severe brain haemorrhage has given four patients a chance at life after her family consented to donate her heart, liver and two kidneys at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital.

The woman had been undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit of the hospital when doctors declared her brain-dead on August 27 despite intensive treatment.

Following the declaration, Dr Nimesh Desai of the hospital’s organ donation team counselled her family about the importance of organ donation. The family subsequently consented to donate her organs.

The donation took place around Raksha Bandhan, with the woman’s heart being allocated for transplantation to a patient undergoing treatment at U.N. Mehta Hospital.

Her liver and two kidneys will be transplanted into patients receiving treatment at the Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre (IKDRC) Hospital.

Dr Rakesh Joshi, Medical Superintendent of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, said the decision had brought hope to four families. “Organ donation is not just about giving organs, but about giving hope, happiness and a new chance at life to others,” Joshi said.

The latest donation has also taken the Civil Hospital’s cumulative organ and tissue donation figures to 1,083, according to hospital authorities.

So far, 252 donors have contributed 835 organs, including 466 kidneys, 226 livers, 80 hearts, 34 lungs, 21 pancreases, six hands and two small intestines.

In addition, 248 tissues have been donated, comprising 200 corneas and 48 skin donations.

The donation followed the woman’s brain-death declaration and the subsequent counselling of her family by the hospital’s organ donation team.

Brain-death cases can allow organs to be donated for transplantation when families give consent, enabling multiple recipients to benefit from a single donor.

Ahmedabad Civil Hospital had crossed the 800-organ mark from brain-dead donors in June this year, when the liver and two kidneys of a 30-year-old road accident victim were donated after his family gave consent.

–IANS

mys/uk