Bengaluru teenager's organ donation gives new lease of life to 7 patients

Bengaluru : A 15-year-old teenage boy from Bengaluru, who died in a road accident, has given a new lease of life to 7 patients.

Ramu (name changed), met with a road accident on March 31 at around 8.30 pm near BHEL Layout. He was initially treated at another hospital and was later brought to SS SPARSH, Rajarajeshwari Nagar, in critical condition. He was declared brain dead on April 3 and his organs were retrieved on the same day.

Ramu was the youngest of two brothers. He had dropped out of school and was helping his parents run a small hotel near BHEL. Despite their grief, the family stepped forward to contribute to the noble cause of organ donation.

They donated his two kidneys, lungs, heart valves, liver, cornea, and small intestine to patients in Bengaluru and Chennai. His small intestine was transported from SS SPARSH Hospital to a makeshift helipad at Rajarajeshwari Medical College by ambulance before being airlifted to Chennai. The entire transportation process from SS SPARSH Hospital to MGM Hospital in Chennai took less than 129 minutes.

As per organ donation protocols, officials from SOTTO (State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation), the government body which oversees cadaver organ donation in the State of Karnataka, initiated the process for organ donation and took written consent from family members. The recipients were selected as per the waiting list and the organs were transplanted.