Family donates organs of brain-dead 84-year-old

MUMBAI: When 84-year-old Shakuntala Trivedi collapsed on Sunday, little did her family know that she would never regain consciousness. She was taken to hospital where doctors declared her brain-dead. The family then took a brave decision to donate her organs.

On Sunday, Shakuntala was fasting when suddenly she started vomiting. She was taken to L H Hiranandani Hospital, Powai. 

"Doctors said my mother had suffered from subarachnoid haemorrhage, a bleeding between the brain and the thin tissues that cover it," said Himanshu Trivedi, Shakuntala's son. Shakuntala slipped into coma. Doctors said the bleeding was not stopping and she was unlikely to recover. Shakuntala's kidneys, liver and eyes were donated. 

Nephrologist Dr Rajesh Kumar said, "Since the kidneys were of an 84-year-old, we were not sure if they would work in case of a transplant. After consulting doctors, kin of the recipient and with the permission of the Zonal Transplant Coordination Center (ZTCC), we decided to transplant both kidneys to a patient on dialysis since three years." 

This year, there have been 11 cadaveric donations which have saved 30 lives. "An organ transplant from an 84-year-old donor is indeed rare," said a ZTCC official.