The family of a 41-year-old male graciously decided to donate his kidneys, liver and heart & lung to save the lives of five patients.

At Jaslok Hospital & Medical Research Centre, Mumbai, a timely donation by the family members of a 41-year-old, brain-dead man helped in saving five lives. He suffered from a Brain Haemorrhage on left side of brain with pressure effect on opposite brain and was declared brain dead on 3^rd May, 2023. After proper counselling, the family gave consent to donate his kidneys, liver and his heart & lung.

The patient was brought in after being found unconscious by his brother on the 27^th of April in an extremely critical condition. Upon performing multiple tests and a CT scan it was revealed that he suffered a brain haemorrhage on the left side of his brain. A decompressive craniotomy was performed on the 27^th i.e. removal of a large bone flap to relieve pressure on the brain and the patient was further maintained on a ventilator. On 3^rd May due to brain swelling and compression on vital structures of the brain, he was declared brain-dead.

The family then decided to donate organs to save the lives of five patients needing transplants. One of the kidney was transplanted into a 23 years old at Jaslok Hospital, and his liver saved a 69 years old at Jaslok Hospital; the other kidney was sent to Nair Hospital and was transplanted to a 25 years old and the heart was sent to Apollo Hospital, Navi Mumbai and saved a 39 years old, Lungs were transplanted to a 59 years old at Sir H N Reliance Hospital, as per the ZTCC norms. According to the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO), once a patient is declared brain dead, the hospital can counsel the family on organ donation.

Commenting on the organ donation, Dr. Deepu Baneerji, Consultant Neurosurgery at Jaslok Hospital who was treating the patient said, “It takes immense courage to take a decision about donating a family member’s organs in time of grief. The accurate and diligent work by the internal, external medical teams along with the support from the Mumbai Traffic Police, who made this donation a reality, by helping with the green corridor in the transport of the organ to other Hospitals. This will hopefully encourage more people to think about and take this life-changing decision to donate their organs post their demise or being in a state of an irreversible coma. I would also want to acknowledge the family of the donor, as they have made a truly remarkable and selfless decision, one that will be remembered and appreciated by countless people for years to come.”

Dr. Milind Khadke, Director Medical Services at Jaslok Hospital said, “I salute the family of the patient for taking such a bold decision. There is no better way to be alive even after death. We need to create more awareness amongst general public about organ donation as one donor can save up to 8 lives and help many more through eyes and soft tissue donation.  All these organs would be reduced to ashes otherwise.”