Giving life to someone

Life is precious. We all are aware of it. There are millions of people who are struggling to lead life because of want of organs and kidney tops the list. In recent years there has been effort to create the awareness on organ donation but not on a scale where it could make a huge difference to many struggling lives.

I happen to read a story of a 19-year-old engineering student from Jharkhand studying at NITTE college of Engineering(NMIT), Bangalore, who has in her death given a new life to a patient on dialysis.

She was brought to MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital on March 2 in a critical state with sudden loss of consciousness. She was diagnosed to have massive intra cranial bleeding which prompted immediate surgery to remove the blood clot and decompress the brain as an emergency.

However in spite of all the efforts, the doctors suggested that there were nil chances of her survival. She was declared brain dead. Therefore, after the consent of the family members for multi-organ donation, her organs (two kidneys, a liver and two eyes) were donated.

A resident of Vijayanagar who was diagnosed with an end stage kidney disease and had been on dialysis since June 2009, got a new lease of life after he received the cadaver donor’s kidney from M S Ramaiah Hospital. The kidney was transplanted to him at BGS Global Hospital. The girl’s liver was sent to Christian Medical college, Vellore. Her eyes have been sent to Minto Eye Hospital, to help patient in need of them. Hats off to her parents who took this decision.

Most of the deaths in India do reach a stage of Brain Dead. Brain dead patients can donate kidneys, liver, eyes whereas normal dead patients can only donate eyes and bone marrow.

Brain death is a legal indicator of death that refers to the irreversible end of all brain activity (including involuntary activity necessary to sustain life) due to total necrosis of the cerebral neurons following loss of blood flow and oxygenation. An organ transplant is the moving of an organ from one body to another or from a donor site on the patient's own body, for the purpose of replacing the recipient's damaged or absent organ. Organs that can be transplanted are the heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas, intestine, thymus, and skin. Tissues include bones, tendons, cornea, heart valves, and veins. Worldwide, the kidneys are the most commonly transplanted organs. [Taken from Wikipedia]

At least 2,00,000 people in India need kidney transplantation every year. But, roughly, one per cent (2000 patients) receive the organ for the transplant.

What could be more gratifying for you and your closed ones when your organs can give life to a struggling person. You may not be there to see the organ transplant but the fact that you will be giving life to someone will definitely make you proud. I just want to make an appeal to take a pledge to donate your organs after your death and also make an effort to educate the elders and relatives to donate multiple organs in case of brain dead or dead. You can go to a local hospital and pledge your eyes to begin with. Life is indeed precious. Please do consider it.