8-year-old girl dies after brain stroke, family donates organs and gifts life to six Mumbaiites

Doctors from Lilavati hospital said the girl had been admitted on February 27 with neurological complications

An eight-year-old girl from Mumbai, who was brain dead, became one of the youngest organ donors of the city on Tuesday and enriched the life of six people with end-stage organ failure.

The family being aware of the practice of organ donation agreed to donate her heart, kidneys, liver and eyes. (Pic for representation)

One of the recipients was a 16-year-old girl, who underwent kidney transplant after appearing for her Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Hindi paper.

Doctors from Lilavati hospital in Bandra said the girl was admitted on February 27 with neurological complications. On Monday morning, the girl suffered a brain stroke. Shortly afterwards, the doctors pronounced her brain dead.

“As per regulations, we conducted the first confirmatory test in the morning and second one at 6.30pm, after which we counselled the family about the possibility of organ donation. The family was aware of the practice and agreed readily to donate her heart, kidneys, liver and eyes,” said organ donation coordinator Pramod Shinge from Lilavati hospital.

The heart donation took place at Fortis Hospital Mulund, where a 10-year-old patient, suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy (when the heart’s ability to pump blood is lessened) got a new lease of life through the transplant. “She was waiting for an organ since September 2017 and we had even run a crowd-funding operation as the family was not able to bear the expenses. The harvested heart reached the hospital at 6.41am and Dr Anvay Mule performed a successful transplant surgery,” said a representative of the hospital.

The second kidney was transplanted into a five-year-old boy in Jaslok hospital while the liver transplant took place at the same hospital where the recipient was a 32-year-old man. Lilavati hospital’s Roshni Eye Bank secured both the corneas, which will be transplanted on patients who have lost their sight.