When the family of 19-year-old Nithin, who was declared brain-dead on January 5 here, decided to donate his organs, it paved the way for the first heart and lung transplant on the a patient in the State.
Nithin’s lungs and heart were transplanted on Jenisha, 26, who had been suffering from a congenital heart disease. The transplant at Lisie Hospital was led by Jose Chacko Periappuram.
Full life
For Jenisha to lead a full life, both her heart and lung had to be transplanted. For a year, she had been on the waiting list of the Kerala Network of Organ Sharing (KNOS) which facilitates all organ transplants in the State. In the meantime, she had gone through recurrent hospital admissions.
Nithin, son of Mohanan and Lalitha from Karunagapally, had met with a road accident on January 4 and was admitted to Government Medical College, Alappuzha. He was shifted to Lakeshore Hospital, Kochi, where he was declared brain-dead.
KNOS conveyed the details to Lisie Hospital and Dr. Jose Chacko and his team harvested the organs on January 6. After the three-hour surgery, the organs were taken to Lisie Hospital by road through a green corridor arranged by the City police.
After a four-hour surgery, the heart and lung sprang to life in the new body.
Jenisha, the daughter of Nirmala and Varghese from Kuttambuzha, Ernakulam, is recuperating, the team announced at a press meet on Monday.
