KOCHI: Let our body be of use to someone, even after we leave this earth, says Thripthi Shetty, a trans woman who promised to give her body along with that of her husband Hrithik M, a trans man, for medical research after death. The couple had been knocking on every door to give such consent since 2019 after they got married.
The couple proceeded to meet then Health Minister K K Shailaja and told her about their greatest wish — to donate their body for the medical students for studies. At that time, organ donation was restricted to male and female genders only. The couple gave a request in writing with their photographs and contact details to the minister. They asked her to notify them whenever the barrier is lifted.
To their surprise, they received an intimation from the Kerala Network of Organ Sharing (KNOS-Mrithasanjeevani) in April that the technical glitch has been fixed and they can give the consent letter for organ donation.
“We requested them to take organs in case of emergency or take the whole body for research purposes at the medical college for students. After getting intimation from Mrithasanjeevani to give consent, we submitted the agreement at Government Medical College, Ernakulam, on August 5.
At a time when many types of research are being carried out regarding different genders, especially about transgender people, getting a pair of bodies would be a great help for the medical students,” Thripthi said. Thripthi is an entrepreneur who specialises in jewellery making and Hrithik is a newsreader and fish breeder. They are the first transgender entrepreneur couple in Kerala. Thripthi is a native of Majeshwaram and Hrithik is from Thiruvananthapuram. However, after marriage, the couple decided to settle down in Kochi.
KNOS organ transplant coordinator Aneesh P V lauded the efforts made by the transgender couple in coming forward to donate their bodies and promoting the cause in society. “When they came forward for the first time, there were no columns to register the donor as a transgender. This was the first time we came across a transgender donor. So, we made changes in the registry by including a new column along with male and female. It was a technical issue only,” he said.