Jharkhand: Tribal couple donates cornea of 2-year-old daughter

RANCHI: Chandra Prakash and Sulekha Panna, a tribal couple from the Bankers Colony in Gumla town, lost their two-year-old daughter, Vanshika, after she fell from the balcony while playing. The grieving parents now wanted two other children to see the world through their daughter’s eyes and donated them soon after she passed.
The couple said their daughter suffered severe head injuries after she fell off the balcony of their house on Friday. “Our daughter can still see the world even after she passed. We had also decided to pledge our eyes but never thought that we will have to donate our daughter’s eyes within two years of her birth,” said Sulekha with tears welling up in her eyes.
Vanshika was taken to a private nursing home in Gumla and after her initial treatment there, she was shifted to Ranchi for better treatment. However, she was brought dead at the Rani Children Hospital here. Her parents then decided immediately to donate her eyes and took her to the city-based Kashyap Memorial Eye Hospital without even waiting for the death certificate.
Sulekha said, “It was my decision to take my daughter’s body for the eye donation at the earliest as I didn’t want to lose the opportunity. I lost my kid but two children will get vision and a smile on their faces.”
Kashyap hospital founder and noted ophthalmologist Dr Bharti Kashyap said she was overwhelmed when she saw the tribal couple carrying the body of their two-year-old child for eye donation to the hospital. “In my 26-year-long career as an ophthalmologist, I have never experienced something like this and have never seen such a commitment. The tribal couple showed immense courage even as they grieved the death of their child,” she added.
Dr Bharti further said, “I conducted my first cornea retrieval in 1994 and every time since then the situation was different. The commitment shown by the couple is unmatched and will surely inspire many people in years to come.”
Later, cornea transplant specialist Dr Nidhie Gadkar Kashyap conducted the cornea retrieval from Vanshika. “The baby’s cornea has been removed and preserved. I ensured that there was no damage to the baby’s face during the retrieval. We will soon transplant both the corneas to the two patients,” she added.