65 year old brain dead patient at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital gives a new lease of life to three

• “Both the kidneys and a liver were donated by the deceased
• Organs of a deceased patient can save the lives of at least six to eight people”

New Delhi, September 20, 2018:

Reaffirming faith in humanity, a family saved the lives of as many as three people by donating the organs of a deceased relative. With his death, Mr Y. K. Bhalla, aged 65 year old, a retired Deputy Manager in a private firm blessed three strangers with new lease of life with the help of doctors at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals. Mr. Bhalla’s family agreed to donate three of his organs to those in urgent need – both kidneys and his liver were donated on 19^th September.

Mr. Y. K. Bhalla was suffering from bilateral cerebral infarction (a condition in which the flow of blood or oxygen in brain is affected due to blockage or narrowing in the arteries) and was admitted at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital on 16^th September in a very critical condition. He was declared brain dead by the doctors post his apnea tests at 6 PM and 12.15 AM on 19^th September.

Post the declaration, the doctors convinced his family members to donate his healthy organs. Dr PN Renjen – Senior Consultant, Neurology, Ms. Jyoti Sharma – Transplant Coordinator and Dr Vikas Sangwan – Incharge, Cadaveric Organ Donation Program, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitalstogether counseled the family throughout the process.

Once the family agreed to donate the organs of their deceased relative, Dr Sandeep Guleria – Senior Consultant, Renal Transplant and Dr. Neerav Goyal – Senior Consultant, Liver Transplantstarted the organ retrieval process at 7 AM along with the anesthesia, critical care and nursing teams. A liver and a kidney were transplanted at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals whereas the second kidney was allocated to another private hospital in Delhi by National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO).

At Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, one kidney was transplanted to a 41-year-old female resident of Delhi. She was suffering from chronic kidney failure and was on dialysis since last 18 years. As there was no suitable donor in the family, she was in critical need for the organ. The liver was transplanted to a 48-year-old male who resides in Noida. The patient had Liver Cirrhosis and was suffering for the last four years.

Retired Major General Dr Jakhtar Singh said, “In India, Organ Donation Rate is 0.26 per million whereas it is 26 in America, 35.3 in Spain and 36.5 in Croatia (As per the reports of organindia.org). We really lag behind other countries when it comes to cadaveric organ donation due to lack of awareness and superstitions attached to this noble act. We are grateful to the donor’s family who in that moment of grief agreed to donate organs of their loved one. Examples like these will only spread awareness and motivate others to come forward and pledge for organ donation.”

Dr PN Renjen – Senior Consultant, Neurology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals said, “When you lose a loved one, you are not in a proper state of mind to make such bold decisions. This family too was grieving immensely for their loss but with my team’s support, we were to able to convince them for this noble act.”

“I was completely heartbroken when doctors told me that my husband is no more and is brain dead. I couldn’t think of anything but then doctors here convinced me and the family that we should donate his healthy organs to the needy patients and give them a new life. Earlier we were not in a condition to accept this harsh reality but later on we finally decided to save others by donating his organs. We terribly miss our loss but are content that he is living in others,” said Ms. Naina Bhalla, wife of the deceased.