Incredible Decision by Donor Family from Himachal
Saves 2 Lives through Renal Transplantation at PGIMER
PGIMER once again became witness to saving two more terminally ill patients suffering from end stage renal failure through transplantation, thanks to the incredible decision by the donor family from Himachal to donate the organs of their deceased teenaged son.
Prof. Vivek Lal, Director PGIMER, expressing his deepest gratitude to the donor family, said, “Every donation is a reiteration of faith and continuation of life. It is the exemplary courage of the donor families like this one from Himachal that sustains the deceased donation programme.”
“Also appreciable are the determined efforts by the entire PGIMER team involved in the process which enabled the noble wish of the family translate into reality by impacting two lives through transplantation.” underpinned Director PGIMER.
After the teenaged donor, a road accident victim, was declared brain dead on the evening of 10th February, the transplant coordinators at PGIMER discussed about the noble cause of organ donation with the family, to which the family consented braving their own grave tragedy.
The grief stricken but brave-heart father of the teenaged donor, who wanted to keep his identity anonymous due to his personal sentiments, said “It’s something no family should have to go through. We said yes to Organ Donation because we knew this could help some one else and they wouldn’t need to go through the heartache that we were going through. We knew it was the right thing to do.”
“We just want people to know about the cause and not who did it as we have done it so that our son 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,” stated the bereaved father maintaining his calm despite the grave tragedy.
Following the family’s consent, the surgeons retrieved the kidneys from the donor for transplantation to the matching recipients. When the donor organs became available, the first step was an intense round of planning. The teams from Department of Nephrology, the labs, the transplant and the intensive care unit made sure they were prepared fully and could get into action without any loss of time.
Prof. Vipin Koushal, Medical Superintendent, PGIMER cum Nodal Officer, ROTTO (North) shared his perspective on Cadaver Organ Donation Programme and said, “The demand for organ transplant has increased in the recent past. This is largely due to improvement in post-transplant outcomes. It is now an effective method to cure many terminally ill patients. Expressing his gratitude to the donor family for their exemplary courage, Dr. Koushal hoped that the their ‘gift of life’ to others in a time of intense grief would encourage many others to pledge for this noble cause.
Before the transplants, the two matching recipients were suffering from end stage debilitating kidney ailment and had been dependent on kidney dialysis for long.
“I can’t thank the donor family enough for their kindness to have given a second lease of life to my brother. How courageous it was of them despite their own grim tragedy,“ said the sister of one of the kidney recipients, while standing outside the recovery room. Echoing her sentiments, the family of the second recipient said, “It is, in a true sense, a ‘gift of life’.”
