The family of Bhavesh Digge, 16, who fell from a train between Kurla and Vidya Vihar stations last week and suffered a serious head injury, donated his heart, liver and kidneys giving a new lease of life to at least four people awaiting these organs.
The boy was rushed to Rajawadi Hospital immediately after the accident on June 21. “He had suffered head injuries and was declared brain dead on June 24. Since Rajawadi is not an authorised facility for organ retrieval, they contacted us,” Abhijit Sinkar, transplant coordinator with Godrej Memorial Hospital at Vikhroli, said. He added that the family was counselled both at Rajawadi and Godrej Hospitals to donate his organs, to which they agreed. The organs were retrieved on Saturday.
The heart went to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani (KDA) Hospital, which used it to perform its first heart transplant procedure on Sunday. The recipient was Rubina Patel, 31, who was put on the waiting list for a donor about two months ago.
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Dr Ram Narain, executive director, KDA Hospital, said, “She was suffering from cardiomyopathy. She had delivered about a year ago and was most likely suffering from post-partum cardiomyopathy. She was not responding to any treatment. We received our licence to carry out heart transplants about two months ago and she was waitlisted with us.”
The heart was retrieved at 1.45 a.m. at Godrej Memorial Hospital and rushed to KDA hospital at Four Bungalows in Andheri (W), a journey that was completed in 22 minutes via the Green Corridor created by the Mumbai traffic police in coordination with the Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee.
The heart was rushed to the operation theatre for the transplant procedure, following which Ms. Patel was moved to the ICU at 9.30 a.m. and doctors said she was “critical but stable”. The procedure transplant was carried out by Dr. Nandkishor Kapadia, head of the hospital’s heart and lung transplant programme.
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Wadala resident Bhavesh’s other organs too gave a new lease of life to others. One of his kidneys was sent to Jaslok Hospital where it was transplanted into a 29-year-old. The second kidney went to a 42-year-old man at Godrej Hospital. The boy’s liver was sent to Global Hospital where it was transplanted into a 76-year-old man.
His family, comprising his mother, a homemaker, father, a driver and sister, also donated his corneas, which have been banked.
The heart was retrieved at 1.45 a.m. at Godrej Memorial Hospital and rushed to KDA hospital via the Green Corridor in just 22 minutes