Vital organs were harvested from a person who was declared brain dead following a road accident.
P. Balasubramanian (38), a differently abled man, was riding a two-wheeler on November 16 when his vehicle was involved in a collision near Vadavalli. After first aid at a nearby hospital, he was shifted to the KG Hospital. However, following two brain surgeries, he was declared ‘brain dead’ after scans revealed significant dysfunction of the brain.
Following this, Cadaver Transplant Coordinator of K.G. Hospital Dr. C.B. Chandrasekaran counselled his relatives regarding organ donation. After getting their consent, the organs were retrieved by a team of doctors comprising Dr. V.P. Shanmugasundaram, chief surgeon, Dr. Ilangovan Veerappan, chief nephrologist, Dr. N.M. Balakrishnan, urologist, Dr. S. Ramaswamy, associate nephrologist, Dr. R. Senthilkumar and Dr. A. Selvakumar, anaesthesiologists, Dr. J. Jayashakeela and Dr. Baby Kavitha, intensivists, besides Dr. Manoj Ramachandran, chief ophthalmologist.
The surgery that began early in the morning lasted a few hours. The kidneys were donated to patients at K.G. Hospital and P.S.G. Hospital, the liver to a patient at P.S.G. Hospital, and the eyes to the Aravind Hospital here. G. Bakthavathsalam, Chairman, K.G. Hospital, said that cadaver transplantation gave a new lease of life to the recipients. The awareness about brain death and organ donation had significantly increased in Tamil Nadu, which was the front runner in the country in this regard.
