Organs donated by 19-year-old Delhi girl give four new lease of life

Doctors at AIIMS said that Lata’s heart was successfully transplanted to a patient in the hospital, her liver and one kidney was allocated to the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, and the other kidney was sent to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

Over the last six years, since her 19-year-old daughter fell ill, 55-year-old Divya Devi had passed the hoarding encouraging people to donate their organs, fixed outside Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences campus, several times. But, she said, she never thought that she will have to make the decision some day.

Dr Aarti Vij, who heads AIIMS’ Organ Retrieval banking Organisation, said awareness about organ donation actually helps people decide when the time comes (Representative image/ANI)

However, when she eventually had to decide, Devi did not hesitate and helped save lives of at least four patients.

“Doctors told me that my child, Lata, was brain dead, they could do nothing to save her. They told me that many lives could be saved if I agreed to donate her organs. I had always dreamt of doing her ‘kanyadaan’ some day, but that could not happen, at least I could do her ‘angdaan’ (organ donation)... some other children will live,” said Devi on Wednesday.

Dr Aarti Vij, who heads AIIMS’ Organ Retrieval banking Organisation, said awareness about organ donation actually helps people to decide when the time comes. “It is always an emotional moment for the family as they have just lost a dear one, and they have a decision to make regarding donating organs. It does help in counselling family members if there has already been a discussion on organ donation before,” she said.

Doctors at AIIMS said that Lata’s heart was successfully transplanted to a patient in AIIMS, her liver and one kidney was allocated to the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, and the other kidney was sent to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital through the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation.

“The patient was brought to AIIMS’ emergency department with complaints of seizure. She was admitted to the neurosurgery department and was diagnosed with raised intra cranial pressure, hydrocephalus with shunt malfunction. Late last night (Tuesday night), she was declared brain stem dead,” AIIMS said in a statement on Wednesday.

Increased intracranial pressure is a rise in the pressure inside the skull that can result from either a medical condition or brain injury, and hydrocephalus is the build-up of fluid in the cavities deep within the brain, which in Lata’s case also led to blockage (obstruction) of the shunt.

Lata’s 21-year-old brother, Prem Kumar, said she turned 19 on January 10, and it was around the same time that they were awaiting a surgery date at AIIMS to remove her kidney stones, which was unrelated to her neurological condition. The family was asked to wait for the surgery as the hospital had stopped all elective surgeries with the Covid-19 infections in the capital at its peak. On February 4, she had seizures and was taken to the emergency department at AIIMS, and after two days she was shifted to the ICU.

“My sister started keeping ill from 2016. Doctors had said that there was fluid formation in her brain and later she was also diagnosed with tuberculosis in her lungs which later spread to her brain. We were getting her treated at Safdarjung Hospital but they referred us to AIIMS because they had better facilities. In October last year we started her treatment at AIIMS,” Kumar said.

Devi said that Lata was hopeful that despite her prolonged and serious medical condition, she would be able to recover some day and resume her studies and start learning painting.

“She was in Class 8 when she fell ill, and doctors suggested that I shouldn’t put pressure on her to study, so we stopped her education. But she always wanted to resume her studies and learn how to paint. I don’t think death or organ donation ever came to her mind, but I am sure my daughter would be proud of my decision. She is now living through others,” said Devi, who cremated her daughter on Wednesday.