82-year-old From Mumbai Becomes Oldest Cadaver Donor
About six months ago, the man expressed his wish to donate his organ during a casual conversation with his family.
An 82-year-old from Mumbai has become the oldest cadaver organ donor. With the decision, he saved an end-stage liver failure patient making it the 39th donation of the year in the city. About six months ago, the man expressed his wish to donate his organ during a casual conversation with his sons and daughters-in-law.
Eight years back, the man had already pledged his body for medical research. However, the family chooses to remain anonymous and wants to go ahead with the organ donation programme. He was admitted to Jupiter Hospital in Thane on September 12 after he suffered a fall. Tests were conducted, and it was found out that he had suffered a brain bleed. World Organ Donation Day 2018: How Can You Donate Your Organs? 8 Things You Should Know
The organ donation programme has facilitated 116 life-saving transplants in 2018. A report in The Times of India quoted his daughter-in-law, a doctor herself as saying, "After about 48 hours of hospitalisation, it became clear his condition may not improve. That's when we inquired with the doctors if his organs could be donated."
The octogenarian was declared brain dead on September 15. A transplant surgeon at Jupiter, Dr Somnath Chattopadhyay, said the man's organs were of good quality. He also said, "World over it has been found that if elderly people don't have comorbidities like diabetes or blood pressure, their organs function like a donor of any other age." World Blood Donor Day: 5 Apps That Connect Blood Donors and Seeker Online
The 82-year-old's skin was also donated. His daughter-in-law added saying, "It was not just us, but even his 78-year-old wife agreed to donate. Organ donation is an important advancement and people need to start talking about it."
Jupiter Hospital has facilitated donations from two octogenarians in 2017 and 2014. Transplant coordinator Aniruddha Kulkarni said the family were aware of organ donation and was self-motivated for it. He further said, "They had given consent for all organs, but only his liver could be retrieved. We couldn’t find a match for kidneys as prospective recipients were reluctant to undergo a major surgery during Ganpati festival."
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 18, 2018 04:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).