BHUBANESWAR: In a profoundly inspiring act of humanity, family of a six-year-old boy who was declared brain dead after a tragic accident, donated his organs turning their personal tragedy into a life-saving gift for others.
The child Swashri Ayan Patra suffered a severe brain injury. His parents - Srikrushna Patra and Swagatika Sahu - donated his kidneys to give a new lease of life to two critically-ill children awaiting transplants.
Srikrushna, headmaster of an Ashram school in Mayurbhanj district, said the accident took place on May 6 evening when his son was closing the main gate of their house in Baripada at around 6 pm. The sliding gate, weighing around two quintal, crashed on him. The child was immediately rushed to a hospital in Balasore from where he was brought to the SUM Ultimate Medicare (SUMUM) in Bhubaneswar the next day.
Dr Alok Kumar Panigrahy, senior consultant (critical care medicine), who led the team in retrieval of the organs for donation, said despite all efforts by the medical team there was no improvement in his condition. He was declared brain dead on Monday.
The distraught parents were then counselled by the medical team and voluntarily decided to donate the organs of their child to help save the lives of other sick children seeking transplant.
“As we had seen parents donating organs of their children in such cases on social media and other platforms, we decided to go for it to ensure our son, despite having a short span of life, also did something meaningful and left a mark,” Patra said.
The hospital authorities then reached out to the State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO) which identified the children in need of transplants. The boy’s kidneys were retrieved and rushed to AIIMS, Bhubaneswar and another private hospital.
The six-year-old deceased was also given a guard of honour as a mark of respect. “This is the fourth time that SUMUM has ensured organ donation. So far 13 different organs had been retrieved from brain dead patients and rushed to different hospitals in the country and within the state to save lives,” said SUMUM CEO Dr Swetapadma Dash.
SOA founder president Prof Manojranjan Nayak said SUMUM has been engaged in the noble practice of organ donation and will continue to raise awareness on it.