Family of 59-year-old in Delhi donates organs, saves five lives

The family of a brain dead man from Delhi donated his organs at AIIMS, giving new life to at least five people. The 59-year-old man was in an accident with his son on April 30 and was declared brain dead a few hours later. His heart went to Indraprastha Apollo Hospital while his liver was allocated to the Army Hospital. His kidneys were donated to patients at AIIMS and Ram Manohar Lohia, while his corneas were banked at the National Eye Bank at AIIMS.

The family of a 59-year-old brain dead man from west Delhi’s Shadipur donated his organs at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and gave new lease of life to at least five people.

Doctors said that over the years there has been a greater acceptance of the idea of donating organs among donor families. (HT Photo)

Doctors at AIIMS said that 59-year-old Rupachandra Singh was travelling with his son on a two-wheeler on April 30 around 11am, when they met with an accident. The patient was taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre around 1.30pm, with severe head injuries. In a few hours, Singh was declared brain dead by doctors.

“The accident has been a huge shock for our family, but it was important that the spirit that my father lived by throughout his life be carried on his death too. He was very kind and giving, and he would have wanted to help as many people as he could,” said Nagendra Singh, his son.

Doctors at AIIMS said that Singh’s heart was allocated to a patient at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital via National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), his liver was allocated to the Army Hospital (Research and Referral), his kidneys were donated to patients at AIIMS and Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) and his corneas have been banked at the National Eye Bank at AIIMS.

Dr Aarti Vij, head of the Organ Retrieval Banking Organization (ORBO)--a nodal facility for cadaver organ and tissue donation related activities at AIIMS—said that over the years there has been a greater acceptance of the idea of donating organs among donor families.

“The decision of donating a family members’ organs, especially after a sudden accident, is a very difficult one, but we have seen over the years that people are more aware and have greater acceptance to the idea of organ donation. They do not hesitate when told the number of lives their decision would be saving. Once the family makes the brave decision, the process of donation and allocation is a joint task by multiple stakeholders, who do their bit of the work to ensure that there is no delay in the organs being retrieved, allocated, transported and received by the recipients in the stipulated time period,” Dr Vij said.