Parents of 9-year-old brain dead girl donates her kidneys

The parents of a nine-year-old girl, a Thane resident, who lost her to head injuries, decided she must live on through someone else, so they donated her kidneys, giving a lease of life to two Mumbaikars.

The girl had been admitted to MGM Vashi Hospital with a head injury and was declared brain dead on June 16. When doctors approached her parents for organ donation, the father took the brave step of giving his consent. They harvested both her kidneys: one they kept at MGM Hospital and the other was given to Jaslok Hospital.

This is the seventeenth cadaver donation in the city this year and doctors are upbeat about awareness on cadaver donation now improving the cadaver count.

Interestingly, the donor at MGM Hospital is the third cadaver donor who is a child.

Dr Sujata Patwardhan, general secretary, Zonal Transplant Co-ordination Committee (ZTCC), said: "It is a tough decision for parents to donate organs of their young child. This year, we saw many such brave parents giving consent for cadaver donation. The mind-set of people is changing and it is a good sign for the many in the organ wait list."

In 2013, Mumbai saw 21 cadaver donations. Cadaver donations in the city had plummeted after having touching a record high of 26 in 2012. The trend of cadaver donations in the city has always fluctuated wildly.
In 2012, organ donations touched the all-time high as the issue had taken the centre stage following Vilasrao Deshmukh's death due to liver failure.

According to the Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee (ZTCC)-Mumbai, in 2014 they plan to have a strong team in public hospitals to ensure that there are more cadaver donations.

As transplant is the only cure for patients with organ failure, health experts feel brain death should be recognised and donations should be promoted. While Mumbai has been lagging behind, Chennai manages over 80 cadaver donations every year.

Feb 15: The parents of a nine-year-old school boy, Naren Prakash from Thane, donated his kidneys, liver and corneas after he succumbed to complications arising out a fracture surgery.
Feb 23: The kidneys, liver and corneas of a six-year-old cerebral palsy child, who was declared brain dead after a severe epileptic seizure, were donated at Jupiter Hospital Thane

Organ donation in 2014 to date:
Cadaver donors: 17
Kidneys: 32
Liver: 16