BENGALURU: Following the death of soldier Aravind Kumar K, his family donated the 23-year-old’s organs after the 23-year-old was declared brain dead on September 6. “It’s the duty of a soldier to serve the nation. Organ donation can save at least eight lives,” says brother Anbu Kumar.
Aravind, who was in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu to attend a family function met with an accident while riding on his bike. “It happened just a kilometre away from our house. Two bikers from the opposite direction banged his bike and Aravind fell. He suffered a head injury,” Anbu says.
The onlookers called an ambulance and took him to a local government hospital. “He was finding it difficult to breathe. They referred us to Bengaluru. We went to a hospital where they said the functioning of his brain has slowed.”
He was then taken to the Command Hospital as he was in Indian army. Three days later at 4.30 pm on September 6, he was declared brain dead. Anbu, who serves in the Indian Army had recommended his brother to join. Aravind took training at the Madras Engineering Group in Bengaluru and joined the service on 15 January, 2013.
Anbu says, “He was on a ventilator and the doctors had already informed us that there’s 90 per cent possibility he won’t survive. I had told them right then, if he doesn’t survive, we would like to donate his organs.”
The doctors conducted the tests and confirmed the condition. “That’s when we informed our mother that he has been declared brain dead. My relatives and I informed my mother on how many lives the organs could save,” he says. The parents agreed to the donation after this discussion.
His organs were harvested at 5.55 am the next day. “All his organs including eyes, heart, lungs, pancreas and tissues were harvested and sent to Bengaluru, Chennai and Mysuru,” Anbu says.
His heart was donated to a 38-year-old patient at BGS Global Hospital, liver to a 60-year-old man at Victoria Hospital, lungs to 70 and 74- year-olds in Chennai. His left kidney was transplanted to a 41-year-old woman at Command Hospital and the other one to a 40-year-old patient in Mysuru.
Aravind served in Srinagar for four years. “When soldiers were hit by snow avalanche in Siachen Glacier last year, he was part involved in clearing off the snow,” Anbu says.