E-Paper
Family of 14-yr-old brain-dead boy donates organs, Pune’s first heart transplant this year
Pune: The city saw its first heart transplant of 2021 after the family of a 14-year-old boy decided to donate his multiple organs late on Wednesday night and saved lives of six persons
Pune: The city saw its first heart transplant of 2021 after the family of a 14-year-old boy decided to donate his multiple organs late on Wednesday night and saved lives of six persons. It was the fifth organ transplant since June 1 this year in Pune city.
The donated organs include kidneys and corneas, liver and heart. Mayuri Barge, a social worker at DY Patil Hospital where the donor was admitted, said that the patient’s family agreed for the noble cause post counselling.
“The 14-year-old boy met with an accident that resulted in major injuries. He was later declared brain dead. The family that hails from Bihar settled in a nearby village 20 years ago. They run a small-scale family business of water purifier making and repairing. Post Covid outbreak, the donor lost interest in online studies and started helping his father in his business. He learned driving at 12 years and used to love making TikTok videos,” said Barge.
Aarti Gokhale, central coordinator, Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee (ZTCC), Pune said the donated heart was sent to Sahyadri Hospital. “The recipient is a 29-year-old girl from Pune city. The donor’s kidney was donated to a 40-year-old man from Pune and another sent to Jupiter hospital in Pune, liver to a 60-year-old man from the city.”
The city saw a marked drop in transplant surgeries post the Covid outbreak and lockdowns.
Gokhale said that since January, Pune has seen 14 organ donations.
“Since June 1 this year, as the unlock began once again, we saw five donations. Earlier, a heart was extracted in Pune but it was sent to Mumbai,” said Gokhale.
