Brain-dead patient in Tiruchy saves three lives

TIRUCHY: Organs harvested from a 47-year-old brain dead patient from the district gave a fresh lease of life to three patients on Sunday, after they were sent to various hospitals in Tiruchy and Madurai to save those in dire need of organ transplantation.

Selvaraj, (47) of Samayapuram met with an accident on July 2 while riding his two-wheeler near Pulur village on Chennai bypass road. Despite receiving treatment at MGMGH for the past few days, Selvaraj was declared brain dead on Saturday evening.

His family members came forward to donate the organs of the deceased. Following the nod from Subathra Devi, Selvaraj’s wife, and Ashok and Ganga, the couple’s children, doctors harvested the pair of kidneys and liver from Selvaraj's body and saved three critical patients.

"After my father lost his life, the doctors had talked to us about the possibility of donating his organs to save other people's lives. I had learnt about organ donation in my school through my teachers and we immediately obliged. Although our mother was initially reluctant, we convinced her and then she also accepted. We are glad that we could at least save other people's lives," said Ashok.

While one kidney was utilised to save a patient at MGMGH itself, another kidney and the liver were transported by ambulance to patients at two private hospitals in Tiruchy and Madurai respectively.