BHOPAL: At an age when children are supposed to rejoice and remain carefree in the company of storybooks, games and friends, under the protection of one's parents, a 10-year-old boy, who lost both his parents in the span of a few years had to make a very difficult decision.
Overcoming the irreparable grief of losing his father, Bhishma Chhawani in 2013, and now his mother Disha Chhawani who became brain dead after a road accident a few days ago, class 5 student Mayank Chhawani decided to donate his mother's organs to ensure she stays alive by gifting life to other needy patients.
A student of Holy Family Convent School in Bhopal, Mayank lost his father, Bhishma, due to sudden heart trouble on January 8, 2013.
Seven years later, his mother Disha, suffered a serious head injury while stepping down from a bus at the BRTS bus stand in Halalpur.
“Disha was admitted at the government’s Hamidia Hospital after the accident on Thursday, where doctors put her on the ventilator as her brain wasn’t responding at all, though the pulse was still there. With nearly no chances of Disha’s brain reviving, the doctors told us on Saturday that she was brain dead and chances of her recovery were near to impossible. They left it to us to decide what we wanted to do next,” said Jagdish Chhawani, Mayank’s uncle and a city-based advocate.
“Both sides of the family slowly started readying themselves to accept the reality and donating Disha’s vital organs for saving lives of others. Though Mayank is a minor, his consent for us was essential to take the bold decision. The brave boy, who daily went to his mom’s hospital bed with the hope of seeing her back in senses, gradually came to terms with reality and told us that he was with us if we decided to donate his mom’s vital organs,” he added.
Mayank’s aunt from Mumbai also played an important role in him coming to terms with reality and going through with the organ donation process, particularly as Mayank wanted to ensure that his mother stayed alive even after her end by reviving lives of others, he said.
Disha was shifted from Hamidia Hospital to Red Cross Hospital in Bhopal on Saturday for organ donation process.
Mayank has taken a landmark decision of his life and we hope that this will also inspire others to consider organ donation in future, he said.