E-Paper
Organs of 50-year-old woman lend new lease of life to three PGI patients
The family of the woman, who was declared brain dead after a road accident, donated her kidneys. liver and cornea that were transplanted to patients at PGI
The organs of a Punjab-based 50-year-old woman lent a new lease of life to two patients battling for survival and restored the sight of a corneal-blind patient, thereby impacting the lives of three patients at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER).
Jaspal Kaur, 50, a resident of Kheri village, Sangrur, had been left with severe head injury after a road accident. She was admitted to a civil hospital in Sangrur on September 18, and first referred to Rajendra Hospital, Patiala, only to be shifted to PGIMER. The prognosis being poor, Jaspal Kaur could not be revived and was declared brain dead on September 21.
Following the family’s consent, Kaur’s kidneys were retrieved and transplanted to two terminally-ill patients suffering from renal ailment. Her retrieved liver was transplanted to a matching recipient here at PGIMER.
PGIMER Regional Organ Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO) nodal officer Vipin Koushal, detailing the donation, said, “There are lakhs of people who wait at hospitals for life-saving transplants amid acute shortage of donors. So the selfless gestures of families like those of donor Jaspal Kaur are beyond any appreciation.”
“There is a need to spread awareness about organ donation and bridge certain gaps. Even if a section of individuals decides to donate his or her organs, it will bring a huge change,” he added.
Kaur’s bereaved husband, Gurdeep Singh Deepa, consenting to the organ donation, said, “God has a purpose for your life. I think my wife Jaspal Kaur was sent into this world by the higher Power to save the lives of others. So I wanted to make sure through organ donation that her ‘spirit of giving’ continues and becomes her lasting legacy.
