City witnesses first bone donation in 3 years

Mumbai witnessed first bone donation after a gap of three years after the family of a 57-year-old brain dead woman donated her organs

Mumbai Mumbai witnessed first bone donation after a gap of three years after the family of a 57-year-old brain dead woman donated her organs.

DR Bharat Shah (HT Photo)

The patient, an engineer and a resident of Virar, had suffered a stroke on August 22, leading to a massive brain hemorrhage. She was taken to a local hospital and eventually shifted to Nanavati Max Super Speciality Hospital in Vile Parle, the same day in an unconscious state.

In the morning of August 24, doctors decided to do the first apnoea test (a compulsory confirmatory test done before the patient is declared brain dead. It is performed after establishing the irreversibility and unresponsiveness of coma, and the absence of brainstem reflexes.) to ascertain if she was brain dead.

“She had pledged all her organs and her family honoured her wish by donating the heart, liver, kidneys, pancreas, corneas and bones soon after they learnt she was brain dead. It was a tough decision but a brave one, setting the right example for all of us,” said an official from the hospital.

While one of her kidneys and liver were given to two patients at Nanavati Hospital, who had end stage organ failure, the other kidney and pancreas went to a patient in Global Hospitals, in Parel. Her heart was sent to Jupiter Hospital, Thane. Novo Tissue Bank & Research Centre accepted the bone donations, while Bachooali Charitable Ophthalmic and ENT Hospital received the corneas.

According to hospital sources, the femur bone – the longest and strongest bone in the body -- was taken for the donation. Health experts said bone donation is very rare. A donated bone is used for patients with bone deficiency or in bone reconstruction procedures. Bone and tissue donations help individuals with orthopaedic and neurological conditions that cause bone death and degradation. Harvested bones can be cut into desired shapes and used for patients who lose bones due to bone cancer, necrosis, reconstruction surgeries and fusion procedures.

This is the 26th organ donation of 2022. In 2018, the city saw 48 organ donations that went up to 79 in 2019. In 2020, Mumbai had 30 cadaver donations. Last year, the city saw 33 donations.

“Organ donation like this is a big boost to the programme. Organ donation numbers went down during the Covid-19 pandemic. We are now returning to pre-Covid numbers,” said Dr Bharat Shah, general secretary, zonal transplant coordination committee (ZTCC). He said committee members are also approaching all city hospitals to create awareness about identifying brain dead patients, reporting and counselling relatives for the donation.