Eight-year-old’s organs save four lives

AN eight-year-old girl’s parents agreed to donate her organs following her death on Monday to help save lives of four others suffering from chronic ailments. One of the recipients is a 16-year-old girl hospitalised on Tuesday to receive a kidney after a prolonged wait. With this cadaver donation, Mumbai has this year recorded 12 cases of organ donations where family has consented after brain stem deaths. Cadaver donation has allowed transplantation of 18 kidneys, 11 livers, five hearts and one lung this year.

According to Lilavati hospital’s social worker, the girl’s heart was donated to Fortis hospital for a 10-year-old girl. The liver was transplanted in a 32-year-old man at Jaslok hospital. One kidney was also sent to Jaslok hospital for a five-year-old boy, and the second kidney was transplanted on the 16-year-old girl in Lilavati hospital itself.

“The deceased girl was admitted following a brain stroke on February 27,” the hospital transplant coordinator said. On Monday, she was declared brain dead following which the family was counselled to donate her organs. At around 2.30 am on Tuesday, her organs were harvested. The heart was sent to Fortis hospital at 6.18 am, and it reached by 6.41 am.

“It is very rare to find paediatric cadaver donors. Several paediatric patients in need of organs have to wait longer until a compatible organ is donated,” said the transplant coordinator.

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