Dadar teens nominated for national honours for donating mother’s organs

Two families from Mumbai and Pune, who donated the organs of their relatives to patients with end-stage illness, have been nominated for honours given by the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation.

Two families from Mumbai and Pune, who donated the organs of their relatives to patients with end-stage illness, have been nominated for honours given by the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation.

“My uncle was supposed to sign on the papers because my brother and I are minors, but he said the responsibility lay with us. I had read about it in papers and thought if it can save lives of others, we should do it,” said Vaibhav Sanghavi (left). (HT PHOTO)

In July, residents of Dadar — Vaibhav, 16, and Ravi Sanghavi, 14, donated the liver and kidneys of their mother Preeti, who died on brain haemorrhage, to save life of three end-stage organ failure patients. The siblings have been nominated for the organ donation honours. The other nominee includes Pune’s Dr Gopinath Chinnakoda, a senior principal scientist from National Chemical Factory, who donated the heart, liver, kidneys, corneas and skin of his 16-year-old daughter Aishwarya after she was declared brain-dead after she suffered a brain hemorrhage.

The officials said that it was a courageous step by Vaibhav and Ravi, the only immediate family members of Preeti, after the death of their father in 2006, to give their consent to donate the organs of their only surviving parent. “She was declared brain-dead on July 22, after she suffered an intracranial haemorrhage. Although she was qualified to be a teacher, she started helping families with cooking so that she could spend more time with my brother and I,” said Vaibhav, who is now preparing for IIT entrance exam after secured 95.6% in his SSC exams.

“My uncle was supposed to sign on the papers because my brother and I are minors, but he said the responsibility lay with us. I had read about it in papers and thought if it can save lives of others, we should do it,” Vaibhav added.

Dr Chinnakoda, on the other hand said that, being a scientist, he had made up his mind that if his daughter’s condition worsens and life-support remains as the only option to keep her alive, he will donate her organs. “She was preparing for her term exams in August when we had to rush her to Ruby Hall Clinic due to sharp headache. After four days and a surgery, doctors on August 22 declared her brain-dead,” he said.

He added that though he was mentally prepared to face the situation, the doctors and medical social workers helped him convince the family that we should donate the organs and salvage as many lives possible.

Dr Chinnakoda said that his daughter shared his interest in chemistry and wanted to become a scientist like him. “We used to spend a lot of time discussing and analysing different chemistry related problems. She was inspired by my work and wanted to follow my footsteps,” he said, adding that they donated heart, kidneys, liver, corneas and skin of their daughter which were transplanted in deserving donors, suffering from end-stage organ failure.