Gift of life on festival of lights
Malathy Iyer | TNN

Mumbai: It's a Diwali gift that four families in Mumbai are unlikely to
forget. Four patients suffering from an incurable kidney disease suddenly
found lifesaving donations in the three-day Diwali period last week.

    But the four donations also meant that two other families had suffered
the loss of loved ones.

    On October 19, a 55-year-old Pune resident collapsed on his way to the
kitchen. "He never recovered and doctors at Jehangir Hospital told us he had
suffered a brain haemorrhage,'' says his sister, who wants to keep the
family's name out of the papers. After he was declared brain dead, Pune
doctors found there were no immediate takers in their city and began the
medically challenging task of transferring his kidneys to the nearest centre
with the requisite know-how, Mumbai. "My brother would have approved,'' says
the sister, who despite her shattered state had the courage to take this
tough decision.

    The next day, another family made the same decision. Around 1 am on
October 20, 65-year-old Jalpaben (name changed) was declared brain-dead,
four days after suffering a stroke. "When doctors at H N Hospital mentioned
that my mother was brain-dead and we could donate her organs if we so
desired, our minds were made up,'' says the 41-year-old son. An altruistic
Jain who lived in south Mumbai, Jalpaben had often mentioned that "in case
of any untoward incident'' she would like her organs to be donated.

    Considering the poor track record of organ donations in Mumbai (and, by
extension, Maharashtra), the donation of four kidneys and two cornea (eyes)
in the span of a day has heartened the Zonal Transplant Coordination Cell
(ZTCC). Doctors see a shift in attitude

Mumbai: The Zonal Transplant Coordination Cell (ZTCC), which coordinates
transplants between donations made by cadaveric or brain-dead persons and
persons with kidney failure, has expressed happiness over four lives being
saved thanks to kidney transplants from brain-dead persons.

    "For 2006 so far, we have coordinated 13 kidney transplants and three
liver transplants,'' says ZTCC secretary Dr Vatsala Trivedi. Considering
that two lakh Indians suffer from kidney failure every year, the donations
seem too small for comfort.

    For patients who queue up for transplants, such donations are truly the
gift of life. Consider 40-something Meera (name changed), who is
recuperating at Jaslok Hospital. "The transplant has meant an end to four
years of painful dialysis and as many near-fatal episodes,'' says her doctor
Dr M Bahadur.

    The Pune donor's sister defines how invaluable her brother's donation
really is. "It is something money just can't buy,'' she says. "We have seen
two young women in our extended families suffer from kidney disease. There
was no problem about money, there was no dearth of family members who wanted
to donate, but they could never find a matching donor. After years of
suffering, they passed away,'' she adds, during a telephonic call from Pune.

    On the occasion of World Organ Donation and Transplantation Day on
Thursday, the Mumbai family has a similar line of thought. "My mother always
felt that there is no point taking these organs back with us when it can be
of use to someone suffering here,'' says Japlaben's eldest son.

What has struck doctors about the recent cadaver donations is the
willingness among families to donate. "In the last four to five cases, the
moment the families were told about their patient's brain-death and
possibility of organ donations, they have agreed almost instantaneously,''
says Dr Trivedi. A doctor from H N Hospital agrees that families are more
receptive to talk of donations than a few years back.


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