Spanish woman becomes second cadaver organ donor in Mumbai this year

Once the brain-dead status was confirmed, both Teresa Maria Fernandez’s son and daughter told us they wanted to donate her organs as it was her wish, said a doctor from Jaslok hospital

A 67-year-old Spanish woman became the second cadaver organ donor in Mumbai this year after her children decided to donate her heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and bones. Teresa Maria Fernandez was touring India and was with a group of tourists in Mumbai on January 5 when she fell unconscious in the bus they were travelling and was rushed to Jaslok Hospital, which said the embassy and her family were informed.

Sixty-seven year old Teresa Maria Fernandez of Spain died of a massive brain haemorrhage while visiting Mumbai.

"Investigations revealed she suffered from a massive brain haemorrhage. Her daughter is a doctor of emergency medicine in Spain, and told us that her mother had a history of high blood pressure. We discussed her case and took her for surgery as the family arrived the next day," Dr Azad Irani, a neurologist at the hospital, said.

Doctors said Fernandez remained unconscious and on January 11, around 9.55 pm, the first apnea test was done to confirm her brain-dead status.

"Once the brain-dead status was confirmed, both her son and daughter told us they wanted to donate her organs as it was her wish," said a doctor from the hospital. The family also performed the last rites of Fernandez in Mumbai.

In January, a 32-year-old man from Bhandup became the first cadaver organ donor in Mumbai this year. He donated liver and kidneys at the MGM hospital in Vashi.

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According to the Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee (ZTCC), Mumbai witnessed bone donation after a gap of five months with Fernandez’s donation.

In 2022, after a gap of three years, the city saw bone donation in Nanavati Hospital-Vile Parle on August 22. Seeing dismal numbers of bone and tissue donations, ZTCC decided to emphasise on bone donations and other tissue donations by encouraging the transplant coordinators to sensitise people about these donations.

"People are now aware that organs can be donated. Donating a heart, lung, liver, kidney, pancreas and intestine are now common. Even hands are being donated. We are now trying to raise awareness of the fact that many tissues can be donated. This includes skin, bones, ligaments etc.," Dr Bharat Shah, ZTCC general secretary, said.

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He said the transplant coordinators have been spreading awareness. "While they speak to the relatives, they do talk about tissue donations too."

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.

"There was a time when people didn’t know that hearts can be donated. Donation of bone is rare and so is skin donation. We will also speak to the hospitals to help us in spreading awareness on the same," said Dr Shah.

While in 2019, Mumbai saw 76 organ donors, in 2020, the city saw 30 donations. In Mumbai, as per ZTCC, 3325 patients are waiting for a cadaver kidney while 328 are waiting for cadaver liver. The waitlist for small bowel is seven, pancreas is 12, heart 28 and lungs is nine. As many as six are waiting for both heart and lung transplant and five patients are waiting for a hand.