62-year-old Nilgiris resident gives new lease of life to three persons

Organ donation from a brain-dead man in Udhagamandalam provides new life to three individuals, highlighting the importance of organ donation.

The organs of a 62-year-old man from Nanjanad near Udhagamandalam, who was declared brain-dead by doctors on September 25, 2024 (Wednesday), will provide a new lease of life to three individuals.

Arjunan, a daily wage worker at a tea estate, became ill on September 24 and was rushed to a private hospital, from where he was transferred to the Government Medical College and Hospital in Udhagamandalam for treatment. On learning that Mr. Arjunan’s brain functions had ceased, due to a haemorrhage, doctors informed his family that there was no chance of him recovering. However, since his other organs were functioning, they suggested that his organs be donated.

After a brief consultation among his family members, his wife A. Saroja and son A. Karthi agreed for his organs be donated. Doctors immediately informed the Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu about the family’s decision. A team of surgeons from hospitals in Coimbatore and Erode arrived in the Nilgiris and removed Mr. Arjunan’s two kidneys and liver. While one kidney was scheduled to be transplanted to a recipient in Coimbatore, another kidney and liver were taken to a hospital in Erode.

Nilgiris District Collector Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneeru, District Superintendent of Police N.S. Nisha, and Dean of the Government Medical College and Hospital in Udhagamandalam M. Geethanjali paid their respects to Mr. Arjunan.

Dr. Geethanjali said that Mr. Arjunan was admitted to the hospital on September 25 at around 1.05 a.m., and was found to have suffered a haemorrhage to the brain due to a stroke. He was immediately placed on a ventilator in the intensive care unit for continued treatment while doctors informed his son and family that Mr. Arjunan was possibly brain dead. After the family agreed to donate his organs, two blood tests were conducted six hours apart, and brain death was confirmed around 9 p.m. on September 25, she said.

This is the second organ donation being carried out in the Nilgiris district, said officials.

Meanwhile, Mr. Arjunan’s liver and a kidney were transported in an ambulance to Abirami Kidney Care in Erode city and transplanted on two patients admitted to the hospital.