62-year-old doctor benefits from brain-dead woman’s heart

PUNE: A 17-year-old boy convinced his grandparents to donate his brain-dead mother’s heart and other vital organs to five patients suffering from end-stage heart, liver and kidney diseases in Pune and Nashik on Friday.
The woman’s heart gave a new lease of life to a 62-year-old medical practitioner in Pune, who had been suffering from cardiomyopathy. This became the ninth cadaver heart transplant in the city this year.

“The donor was an independent woman, who raised her kids after her husband’s demise five years into their marriage. Her minor son convinced his grandparents to opt for organ donation,” said a doctor from Columbia Asia hospital in Kharadi.

The donor worked as a helper in a school van. She had suffered a brain haemorrhage. Despite the medical team’s efforts, died of the complications. The physician declared her brain dead.

After the family gave their consent, the hospital authorities informed the Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee (ZTCC), Pune region. The organ donation took place on December 14.

“We allocated heart to a patient at Ruby Hall Clinic and liver to a patient at KEM hospital. One kidney was allocated to a renal failure patient at Wockhardt hospital in Nashik and the other to a patient at Command Hospital in Pune. Her corneas were allocated to H V Desai eye hospital,” ZTCC transplant coordinator Aarti Gokhale said.

The surgical team from various hospitals, who were assigned the organs, worked together as a team to successfully retrieve, harvest and subsequently transplant the vital organs.

A green corridor was created to transport organs from Columbia Asia hospital in Kharadi to the hospitals in Nashik and Pune.

The Ruby Hall Clinic’s heart transplant team carried out a full assessment of the donor’s heart and found it functioning well and suitable for transplant to the recipient. Both had the same blood group.

Post-transplant, the patient’s condition is stable. “The transplanted heart is beating normally,” said a doctor.

The woman’s liver gave a new lease of life to a 48-year-old farmer from Baramati. A team of doctors led by liver transplant surgeon Bipin Vibhute carried out the surgery at KEM hospital on Friday. “The farmer had been suffering from an end-stage liver condition for the past five years. The transplant has benefitted him immensely,” Vibhute said