In an extraordinary act of humanity amid unbearable grief, the family of a 14-year-old boy from a village in Jhajjar district consented to donate his organs after he was declared brain-stem dead at PGIMS Rohtak on Sunday, helping save the lives of six patients.
The boy’s liver, kidneys and corneas were retrieved for transplantation. Two kidneys were successfully transplanted into patients at PGIMS Rohtak, while the corneas will restore vision to two individuals. The liver was transported to a hospital in Delhi through a green corridor, where it will be split and transplanted into two recipients, said Vice Chancellor Dr H K Aggarwal of Pt BD Sharma University of Health Sciences, Rohtak.
He informed that the child had sustained severe head injuries in a road accident and was admitted to the trauma centre of PGIMS on May 20. Despite intensive medical care, he was declared brain-stem dead on May 22 after a series of clinical tests conducted by a multidisciplinary medical board.
Dr Tarun Yadav, ICU in-charge, said a team from the Neurosurgery Department examined the patient before confirming the diagnosis of brain-stem death.
PGIMS Medical Superintendent Dr Kundan Mittal stated that the brain-death committee conducted all required tests twice at an interval of about six hours. The patient was declared brain-stem dead only after completing apnea and brain-stem reflex tests.
He further added that the organ allocation process continued throughout the night, and from 6 am onwards, Rohtak Police began preparations to establish a green corridor.
“Jhajjar, Rohtak, and Delhi Police jointly created a green corridor to transport the liver to Delhi in time. The 70-km distance was covered in less than one hour. Jhajjar Police worked through the night to complete all legal formalities. Everyone involved understood that every single minute was crucial,” Dr Mittal said.
PGIMS Director Dr. Suresh Singhal said Haryana has set a record by facilitating PGIMS’s fifth successful organ donation in just two months.
“There could be no greater act of virtue than my son’s organs giving life to six people. He will live on forever, even in death,” said the inconsolable father.
