Teenager’s organs give 4 people new life

Belagavi: In death, a girl gave the gift of life to four people – organs harvested from the brain-dead patient were transplated to four patients on Monday. Police in Belagavi were only too pleased to play their part in this noble venture, ensuring a green corridor to ensure that the heart from the 15-year-old girl was transported on time from Dharwad to Belagavi.
The 15-year-old, who was admitted to SDM Hospital in Dharwad, was declared brain-dead by the doctors. Her family members, following the advice of the doctors, pledged her organs to those in need of them. Accordingly, the girl’s heart was transported to KLE’s Prabhakar Kore Hospital and Research Centre in Belagavi. In order to ensure that the heart reached the Belagavi-based hospital in time for the procedure, police ensured a green corridor for the ambulance.
The ambulance arrived in Belagavi in the evening on Monday. Noted cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Richard Saldanha, assisted by Dr Mohan Gana and Dr Anand Wagharali, transplanted the heart to a 22-year-old from Gokak.
Chairman of KLE Society Prabhakar Kore, managing director and chief executive officer of KLE’s Prabhakar Kore Hospital Dr MV Jali lauded the bereaved family of the girl for agreeing to donate her organs. Belagavi superintendent of police Sanjvee Patil told TOI, “We thought we must play the Good Samaritan given the time-sensitive nature of organ donation.”
Meanwhile, the liver from the girl was airlifted to Apollo Hospital in Seshadripuram, Bengaluru, while another patient at the same institution was the beneficiary of one of her kidneys. Another kidney from the teenager went to a patient at the Tatwadarsha Hospital in Hubballi.