Accident victim’s organs give new lease of life to 4 at PGIMER

The 27-year-old Kalka man’s kidneys were given to two terminally ill renal failure patients, while his corneas restored the eyesight of two other patients

A 27-year-old man from Kalka, who died due to fatal head injuries, has given a new lease of life to four needy patients through organ donation.

Amit had fallen from the stairs at his home and injured his head on the night of April 6. (HT Photo)

The donor, Amit of Tipra village in Kalka, Panchkula, had fallen from the stairs at his home and injured his head on the night of April 6. After the mishap, he was rushed to civil hospital, Sector 6, Panchkula, and from there to Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, where he was declared brain-dead on April 10.

“Transplant coordinators at PGIMER talked to us about organ donation. The idea of having a chance to save someone else’s life made sense to us, even though we didn’t have the heart to take Amit off life support,” said Subhash Chander, Amit’s father.

The transplant teams retrieved the donor’s kidneys and transplanted them to two terminally ill renal failure patients. Apart from this, Amit’s corneas were also harvested, which on transplantation restored the eyesight of two other patients.

Prof HS Kohli, head of PGIMER nephrology department, said, “The generous gesture by the donor’s family has given a second lease of life to the two recipients as both of them were suffering from end-stage debilitating kidney ailment. Their chances of survival without transplant were bleak.”

About the procedure, Prof Ashish Sharma, head of renal transplant surgery department, said, “Since there are challenges in doing transplant in Covid-19 days, special precautions are taken. The deceased donor as well as both recipients were tested and confirmed to be negative for Covid-19.”

ROTTO PGIMER nodal officer Vipin Koushal said that since April 2020, 31 lives of terminally ill organ failure patients have been saved with the transplantation of 28 kidneys, two livers, one heart, one pancreas. Moreover, 113 sight-impaired patients have been cured through corneal transplants.