MADURAI
A 43-year-old woman, P. Manickam, from Tirunelveli district, who was declared brain dead on Tuesday, gave a new lease of life to at least six people with her vital organs, harvested by doctors at Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre (MMHRC) here.
According to a statement issued by the hospital, the woman, wife of Palpandi, a farmer of Marukalkurichi village, met with a road accident when she was returning home with her husband on a two-wheeler after buying Deepaval gifts for her newly married daughter on Sunday.
Manickam, who sustained serious head injuries, was rushed to Nanguneri Government Hospital, from where she was referred to Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital. She was brought to the MMHRC on Monday morning.
The statement said her condition deteriorated and she was declared brain dead on Tuesday after necessary tests were done at stipulated intervals. When the doctors explained the situation to her husband, Mr. Palpandi agreed to donate his wife’s vital organs.
After intimating Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu and following the procedures to identify the recipients, the kidneys, liver, heart, lungs and corneas of the deceased were harvested by a team of doctors on Tuesday.
One of the kidneys and the liver were transplanted to two patients at the MMHRC. Another kidney was donated to a patient at a private hospital in Tiruchi while the lungs and heart were transplanted to two patients at a private hospital in Chennai. The corneas were donated to Araving Eye Hospital, Madurai.