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Organs of brain-dead patient lend new lease of life to three at PGIMER
The patient’s husband donated her donated her kidney and cornea, which were transplanted to patients at PGIMER, Chandigarh,
The family members of 65-year-old Nisha Thakur, a resident of Solan Himachal Pradesh, donated her organs and lent a new lease of life to a terminally-ill patient suffering from debilitating renal disease and helped restore the sight of two corneal blind patients at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER).
Thakur, was admitted to PGIMER on July 11, following a ruptured aneurysm. The prognosis being poor, she could not be revived and she was declared brain dead on July 13 after the two committee meetings following the protocols of Transplantation of Human Organs Act.
The transplant coordinators then raised the matter of organ donation with the family members.
Yashpal Singh Thakur, the deceased’s husband, showcased exceptional initiative, saying, “The whole family of ours desired that the organs of the Nisha should be donated to patients who are in dire need of them and conveyed the ultimate message that ‘we can save a life even in death’, after consenting for organ donation.”
PGIMER Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO) nodal officer Vipin Koushal said, “Acting on the family’s decision, the surgeons retrieved the kidneys and corneas from the donor Nisha, which on transplantation gave fresh lease of life to the patient suffering from end stage kidney disease and sight to two corneal blind patients and proved a boon for three lives.”
“When the donor organs became available, everyone knew exactly what to do to save lives, including the labs, the transplant teams, the intensive care unit staff got into action without any loss of time, reiterating about the quality and competence of the PGIMER team involved in the entire process of transplantation,” he added.
Speaking about the gap between donations and the need for organs, Koushal said, “The road ahead is really challenging and families like these consenting for organ donation may provide the answer.”
