Little Angel, despite living for even less than 40 days, became Saviour By kindling ‘hope for life’ with Organ Donation for one terminal patient at PGIMER

Chandigarh : 06 December, 2020 : In nothing short of a miracle, the
brave-heart parents of a little angel Ababat Kaur Sandhu, who lived for
only 39 days, immortalised her with their magnanimous decision of organ
donation that kindled ‘hope for life’ for one renal failure terminally ill patient
here at PGIMER today.
When the attending doctors broke the news to young parents, Mr. Sukhbir
Singh Sandhu and his wife Ms.Supreet Kaur from Amritsar, Punjab that
their beloved daughter wouldn’t pull through here at PGIMER yesterday,
the parents knew they didn’t want their baby’s death to be in vain. So
despite the cardiac arrest, the doctors respected the noble wish of the
family and moved quickly to perform the rare and intricate operation to
remove her kidneys and use them to save another life.
The grief stricken but resolute Mr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu , young
father of little angel, who works as Agriculture Development Officer and
is also the President of Plant Doctors Services Association, Punjab, said “It’s
something no family should have to go through. We said ‘yes’ to Organ
Donation because somewhere in our hearts, we felt that our daughter’s
such short mortal journey had a ‘purpose’. She came to this world, only to
give life to someone else in so much pain. So despite the heartache that
we are going through, we knew it was the right thing to do.”
“We just want people to know about the cause, We have done it so
that our daughter re- lives through others. We have done it for our
own peace and solace. We hope our child’s story will inspire families who
find themselves in the same position. We want to aware people on organ
donation to realize that death is not the end of things, people can live on
through others, through this,” recalled the young mother, Ms Supreet
Kaur, herself a science teacher, while maintaining her calm despite the
grave tragedy.
Commending the efforts of the PGIMER team involved in the process, Prof.
Jagat Ram, Director PGIMER stated, “PGIMER’s team of experts has
enabled this landmark transplant within a tiny time frame. But it was not
possible to reach this far without the gritty decision and selfless gesture of
this donor family from Amritsar, who is the fulcrum on which the success
of this transplant hinges.”
The baby born on 28th October had brain anomalies incompatible with life.
Understanding that their daughter has very slim chances of survival, the
parents brought her here in PGIMER on 25th November leaving no stone
unturned. However, despite the cardiac arrest, the parents were so
determined to see their baby live through others that they consented for
organ donation.
Detailing about the case, Prof. Ashish Sharma, Head, Deptt. of Renal
Transplant Surgery, PGIMER, shared, “Retrieving organs from children
for transplant is rare, it is even more uncommon from such young babies
with congenital anomalies. The case had its own kinds of challenges. On
one hand, the donor was not even 40 days old so the retrieval was also not
routine procedure and demanded extreme deftness and skill to accomplish
it successfully. On the other hand, the best matched recipient was an adult
so both the kidneys were transplanted onto one recipient considering the
age factor. Moreover, due to COVID-19 pandemic, we had to be extra
cautious on every count and follow COVID protocols as well.”
Prof. Vipin Koushal, Nodal Officer, ROTTO PGIMER while expressing
his sentiments, stated, “Life after death” merely sounds unrealistic until the
organ donation gave it a meaning. This case of cadaver organ donation has
been an epitome of humanity and self-sacrifice on two counts; the donor
family’s courage and resolution to donate the organs of their angelic and
cherubic baby who was not even forty days old and PGIMER’s determined
efforts to make this rare transplant a success despite whatever odds.”