KOCHI:Vital organs of a person who was declared brain dead at Aster Medicity here were transplanted in four separate patients on Saturday. The consent letter to donate the organs of Joseph Cherian, a 52-year-old businessman hailing from Nedumkandam in the Idukki district, was signed by his relatives. Joseph’s vital organs will now give a new lease of life to four patients in Kozhikode, Kottayam and Kochi.
“Joseph, who was suffering from a condition known as intra-cranial haemorrhage, was first taken to a hospital in his home town. When his condition turned critical, he was shifted to Aster Medcity on Friday, where he was declared brain dead in the evening. In an exemplary move, Joseph’s wife Laissamma and sons Albin and Stephin gave consent to donate his organs, including heart, kidneys and liver,” said a press statement issued by the hospital.
The procedures to remove, harvest and shift the organs started on Saturday early morning. As usual, the district administration and the police made arrangements to shift the organs to the other cities. Acting on an order issued by the District Collector, the City Police created a green corridor and a medical team of Aster Medcity transported the harvested heart to the airport, from where it was airlifted to Kozhikode by 10.30 am. The heart recipient was a 53-year-old female patient undergoing treatment at Metro International Cardiac Centre, Kozhikode.
Another green corridor was created to transport one of the kidneys to Kottayam Medical College, while two patients at Aster Medcity itself received the other kidney and the liver. The kidney was transplanted in 52-year-old Lavan K S, while Sanjay Gurav, 47, received the liver.
Aster Medcity chief operating officer Ramesh Kumar hailed Joseph’s family for their noble act.
The chartered flight to transport the heart to Kozhikode was provided at a subsidised rate by Joy Jet, a unit under the Joyalukkas Group.