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Chandigarh: Brain dead HP teen’s kidneys save two lives at PGIMER
Harsh Panwar, a resident of Sirmaur district, Himachal Pradesh, had suffered injuries in a head-on collision on March 8; he was initially rushed to a local private hospital and later brought to PGIMER in an extremely precarious condition
A 19-year-old Himachal Pradesh youth, who was declared brain dead after suffering injuries in an accident, gave new lease of life to two people after his family agreed to donate his kidneys at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER).
Harsh Panwar, a resident of Sirmaur district, Himachal Pradesh, had suffered injuries in a head-on collision on March 8.
He was initially rushed to a local private hospital and later brought to PGIMER in an extremely precarious condition. But his life couldn’t be saved and he was declared brain dead on March 10.
Following this, the transplant coordinators at PGIMER discussed the noble cause of organ donation with his family.
After they consented, transplant teams of PGIMER retrieved the donor’s kidneys and transplanted them to two terminally ill renal failure patients. Apart from the kidneys, the corneas of the donor were also harvested that helped restore the eyesight of two corneal blind patients.
“Every year, hundreds of people die waiting for an organ transplant in India. Due to misconceptions and lack of awareness, there is a shortage of organ donors. The gap between the number of organs donated and the people waiting for a transplant is growing wider with each passing year,” said Dr Vipin Koushal, nodal officer, Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation, PGIMER.
“Timely cadaveric organ donation can save many lives, and more people would come forward and pledge their organs if they receive more information and are educated on the benefits of organ donation,” he added.
