On Vishu day, woman gives gift of life to three persons

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When everyone was celebrating Vishu on Monday, a family endured their grief and decided to give a new lease of life to three people through a noble gesture. Kavitha’s (48) family agreed to donate her organs after she was declared brain dead. This is the seventh organ donation, arranged by nodal agency Kerala Network for Organ Sharing (KNOS), this year.

Kavitha, a native of Kilikolloor in Kollam, sustained a serious head injury on April 7 after she fell in her bathroom in Coimbatore where she worked as a home nurse. She was initially admitted at a hospital in Coimbatore and later shifted to a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram on April 9. However, her condition worsened afterwards.

When she was declared brain dead, KNOS officials talked to her daughters Shruthi and Swathi and their relatives about the importance of organ donation. When they agreed, arrangements were made to harvest her liver and kidneys. The liver and kidney were rushed to a private hospital for transplant in two patients while one kidney was given to a patient at the medical college hospital.

KNOS officials applauded the courage and kindness shown by Kavitha’s daughters. It was the best decision they could take for a mother who spent her life taking care of others, said KNOS officials.

Organ donation – which witnessed a steep fall due to various negative campaigns – is showing signs of revival. The number of deceased donors dipped from 76 in 2015 to eight in 2018. After KNOS was introduced in 2012, the state witnessed 792 major organ transplants.