KOLKATA: It was a “special” boy’s heart that saved the life of Howrah resident Rakhi Mondal on Monday. His liver, too, gave life to another
patient in Delhi, while his corneas were grafted on two persons in Patna.
For his parents, their youngest son had always been special. Though extremely perceptive in many ways, he had learning difficulties and was speech impaired. “We had admitted him to a special school in Himachal Pradesh but after he didn’t show any progress, we brought him back. Since then, he has been at home,” said his father, a farmer from Hilsa village in Nalanda district, around 50 km from Patna.
Speaking to TOI a day after her 19-year-old son’s organs changed the lives of complete strangers, the 42-year-old mother, who was instrumental in getting her son’s organs harvested, said despite her grief she found solace in the fact that her son had served so many.
But she rued the fact that the doctors failed to retrieve the two kidneys, which could have saved two more lives.
“I am alive today because of a kidney donated by my elder son. The transplant made me realise how invaluable an organ is. When I learnt that my son’s condition was critical, I told them that even if they fail to save him, they should ensure that his organs survived,” said the mother who had studied only till Class X but made a choice that even the highly educated often fail to make. She had undergone a kidney transplant at Rabindranath Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences last year.
Please ensure his organs don’t die: Donor’s mom
On September 20, while she was in Patna with her husband for a check-up, they heard about their son’s accident at home. He had fallen head first from the terrace onto a neighbour’s roof, a drop of 12-14 ft. Though the external injury was minimal, the internal injury eventually turned out to be fatal.
“Since he was a child, he would hang out on the terrace. When we left the home that morning, he waved at us from the terrace. Around 2 pm, we got the call from home and learned he had fallen off the terrace. Neighbours rushed him to Nobel Hospital in Patna,” recounted the boy’s father.
The duo found their son in coma when they reached the hospital. He had suffered brain haemorrhage. He was to undergo a brain surgery at 11am on Friday to drain out blood, but the doctor ultimately decided not to as his condition nosedived. “It was killing to see him lying motionless,” said the mother.
Even as a doctor was offering hope to the couple on Saturday morning, she turned to her husband and the doctor and said: “Please ensure that his organs don’t die with him.”
“I felt a part of his brain was beginning to get affected though his organs were working perfectly. I told the doctors that I wanted my wife’s wish to be fulfilled,” said the father.
But the hospital had never declared a patient brain-dead or retrieved organs. It had never happened anywhere in Bihar. They asked the parents to shift the patient to Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) in Patna.
It was at IGIMS, where doctors declared the boy brain-dead on Sunday evening.
The retrieval of organs began around 10.30am on Monday. The liver was flown to Delhi and the heart to Kolkata. The corneas were retrieved, but the kidneys were lost.
“My son’s kidneys would have helped two more persons who may be as critical as I was a year ago. It is sad that the doctors could not retrieve them. It is perhaps inexperience. Now that the health department and IGMIS know what needs to be done, I hope they meet with success the next time,” said the mother.
