Brain-dead man gives new lease of life to 5 people

Mumbai: It took doctors and transplant coordinator at Jaslok Hospital two days to convince relatives of a brain-dead Konkan resident to donate his organs

Mumbai: It took doctors and transplant coordinator at Jaslok Hospital two days to convince relatives of a brain-dead Konkan resident to donate his organs.

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This took the number of cadaver organ donations for this year to 15.

Dilip Bhuvad, a pandal decorator, migrated to the city a month ago. On April 29, he suffered a brain stroke. The 41-year-old man was initially rushed to a nearby hospital in Malad, where he underwent emergency surgery. As he remained unconscious, he was shifted to Jaslok Hospital for further treatment.

While doctors informed the family that he was brain-dead on May 2 and counselled them on organ donation. It was on May 4 that the family gave consent to donate Bhuvad’s heart, lungs, liver and kidneys, giving a new lease of life to five people.

“It was difficult to convince his wife. We then convinced her that his organs can give a new life to many. By not consenting to donate, the organs will go to waste,” Sanjay, Bhuvad’s elder brother, said.

Dr Bharat Shah, general secretary, Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee (ZTCC), said counselling plays a key role but these days it takes less time due to awareness on cadaver organ donations. “Very rarely do we see people unaware of organ donations, which is a good thing. We are therefore seeing more organ donations. We are now asking the counsellors to sensitise people about bone, skins and other tissue donations too,” he added.

To boost cadaver organ donations in the city, the ZTCC had constituted sub-committees of intensivists, who meet once a month and review the cadaver organ donations in hospitals. Dr Shah said they are planning CME (continuous medical education) in medical colleges and talking to the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) to include organ donation in the curriculum.

After witnessing a dip in cadaver organ donations during the Covid-19 pandemic, the city saw 47 donations in 2022. In 2021, 31 cadaver organ donations were recorded, while 76 and 30 in 2019 and 2020, respectively.