Chandigarh: Organs of 3 people give 11 PGI patients another chance at life
With donor families like those of Vandana Chopra, Sita and Jarnail Din setting examples for others to follow, it seems we have come a long way through awareness generation, says Dr Vipin Koushal, nodal officer, ROTTO, PGIMER
The organs of three deceased patients from Punjab gave 11 patients at PGIMER a second chance at life over the last fortnight.
Vandana Chopra, 45, a resident of Gandhi Colony, Rajpura, was operated upon for a brain tumour at a private hospital in Mohali. But she could not be revived post surgery. On being informed about her precarious condition, the family expressed willingness to donate her organs, following which the donor was shifted to PGIMER and certified brain dead on August 15 in line with the Transplantation of Human Organs Act (THOA).
Following the family’s consent, the kidneys were retrieved and transplanted to two terminally ill patients suffering from renal ailment. The retrieved corneas, on transplantation, restored the sight of two corneal blind patients.
In the second case, Sita, 49, a resident of Ghanouli village, Rupnagar, was grievously injured in a road accident on August 4. She was brought to PGIMER and put on life support, but declared brain dead on August 12.
In another case, Jarnail Din, 60, of Bhogiwal village, Malerkotla, was declared brain dead on August 2. Din was hit by a speeding vehicle that had caused grievous head injuries. He was referred to PGIMER on July 24, but could not be saved.
Following the consent of families of both patients, Sita’s kidneys and corneas, and Jarnail’s kidneys and liver were harvested.
The four kidneys from both patients gave a new lease on life to four patients battling for survival at PGIMER. The liver retrieved from Jarnail was transplanted to a matching recipient on waiting list. Sita’s corneas were used for two patients at PGIMER.
Dr Vipin Koushal, nodal officer, ROTTO, PGIMER, said, “Any initiative, however difficult, becomes successful when the community owns it and takes it forward. With donor families like those of Vandana Chopra, Sita and Jarnail Din setting examples for others to follow, it seems we have come a long way through awareness generation. The donors’ story is a story of resurrection and of goodness coming full circle.”