A 48-year-old brain-dead man’s kidneys, liver, heart valves and corneas were harvested at a private hospital in Mysuru and donated to eligible recipients in different hospitals in Mysuru and Bengaluru.
Mr. Manu, who hails from Somwarpet in Kodagu, sufferred a stroke on March 27 and was treated at different hospitals in Madikeri and Hassan before he was referred to a tertiary care centre in Mysuru.
He was brought to Apollo BGS Hospital in Mysuru on March 30 and an initial CT scan showed brain stem infarct. He was shifted to ICU immediately for life support and intensive care. He was kept on life support for two days while he was in a very critical state.
On the third day on April 1 at 9.30 p.m., he was declared brain dead due to brain stem failure as per the hospital protocol stipulated by the Transplant of Human Organs Act 1994 by a panel of doctors.
“Mr. Manu was healthy before this incident and further tests confirmed his eligibility for organ donation. His family was counselled for organ donation as per the defined protocol and deceased patient’s wife and son came forward to donate his organs”, said a statement from BGS Apollo Hospitals, Mysuru, which is now a Licensed Centre for Multi Organ Transplant.
As per organ donation protocol, officials from Jeeva Sarthakathe, which was earlier known as Zonal Co-ordination Committee of Karnataka (ZCCK) for organ transplants, initiated the process on the basis of the organ recipients waiting list. Around 2 a.m. on Saturday, Mr. Manu’s organs including two kidneys, liver, heart valves and corneas were harvested with cross clamp at the hospital.
While the liver and kidneys were donated to Apollo BGS Hospital in Mysuru, the heart valves were donated to Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospital in Bengaluru. The corneas were donated to Lions Eye Bank in Mysuru, the statement added.
A statement from the hospital said India was struggling with acute shortage of organs for transplantation. “It is estimated that more than a million people suffer from end-stage organ failure, but only 3,500 transplants are performed annually. At least 15 patients die every day waiting for organs,” said the statement adding that awareness on organ donation was a way out of the depressing scenario.
“One donor can give life to a minimum of 8 people. Right now, more than 100,000 people in India need an organ transplant”, the statement said and added that around 4,500 people in Karnataka were waiting for organs. “The need for donors has never been greater. Organ transplantation is one of the most miraculous achievements of modern medical science”, said Mr. Bharateesha Reddy N.G., Vice President and Unit Head, Apollo BGS Hospitals, Mysuru, in a statement.
