46-yr-old accident victim is year’s 1st cadaver donor

Kolkata: The state recorded its first deceased organ donation of the year on Thursday. The organs of a 46-year-old woman, declared brain-dead at a hospital, will give a fresh lease of life to three women currently undergoing treatment at two city hospitals.The donor, Sumitra Das, had been critically injured after being hit by a motorcycle near her home in Haldia last month. Initially taken to a local health facility, doctors found that she had suffered severe brain injuries. Her family was then advised to shift her to Kolkata for advanced treatment.
She was taken to a private hospital in Kolkata. The woman's daughter, Anurupa, is a nurse, and her son-in-law, Subhojit Maity, works in the management department of the hospital. "The entire hospital ensured that the woman was given the best treatment. But the efforts didn't yield any positive result. She started showing symptoms of damage, causing brain death," said Sumit Kumar Maity, a family friend.When the first apnoea test conducted on the woman confirmed brain death, the hospital took the initiative to start counselling the family. They suggested the family to donate the woman's organs to give fresh lease of life to other patients, struggling for survival. Another test conducted on the woman confirmed that she was brain dead. Despite the grief, the younger son of the deceased woman, Sougata, who is a student of pharmacy, told that he wanted his mother to stay alive in the bodies of other people. Thus, the family, including her husband, Gopal, agreed for the donation of the organs. ROTTO (East), the nodal organisation for the east at IPGMER & SSKM Hospital, was informed. They then started looking for recipients who would match with the donor. The liver was transplanted in an elderly woman (66). The kidney was given to another woman of 33 years. Both these transplantations were conducted at the private hospital itself. A 36-year-old woman at SSKM received the other kidney. The cornea of the donor was given to the Disha Eye Hospital.According to sources, the lungs of the donor had some issues. But the heart was healthy. But the doctors took the decision to retrieve only three organs as there were no matching recipient in the state. Moreover, the doctors didn't take the risk of waiting any further for finding more recipients in other states. In its previous report, the TOI mentioned that the state hadn't witnessed any donation this year. ROTTO (East) sources said in Jan, they had received some cases of brain deaths, but either families didn't agree for the donations or the organs were found unfit for being transplanted into other recipients. "We are hopeful that after this donation, there will be many more such donations later," the source said.