Little 40 days old Angel, became Saviour
By kindling ‘hope for life’ with Organ Donation for one terminal patient at PGIMER
M4PNews|Chandigarh
Probably the 2nd case after 70 hours aged donor, Abadat Kaur Sandhu a 39 days old little angel became saviour for a terminally sick patient. One could only imagine the plight of a mother, who agreed to donate the organ of her tiny heart after she succumbed to brain anomalies and cardiac arrest. True it is, Everyone is here for a reason and Abadat like her name accepted the heartfelt prayers of the sufferer, and became saviour of the organ recipient.
Amritsar based brave heart Parents, Mr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and his wife Ms.Supreet Kaur knew that their daughter would not be able to survive and they didn’t want their baby’s death to be in vain. So despite the cardiac arrest, the doctors respected the noble wish of the family and moved quickly to perform the rare and intricate operation to remove her kidneys and use them to save another life.
The grief-stricken but resolute Mr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, young father of little angel, who works as Agriculture Development Officer and is also the President of Plant Doctors Services Association, Punjab, said “It’s something no family should have to go through. We said ‘yes’ to Organ Donation because somewhere in our hearts, we felt that our daughter’s such short mortal journey had a ‘purpose’. She came to this world, only to give life to someone else in so much pain. So despite the heartache that we are going through, we knew it was the right thing to do.”
“We just want people to know about the cause, We have done it so that our daughter re- lives through others. We have done it for our own peace and solace. We hope our child’s story will inspire families who find themselves in the same position. We want to aware people on organ donation to realize that death is not the end of things, people can live on through others, through this,” recalled the young mother, Ms Supreet Kaur, herself a science teacher, while maintaining her calm despite the grave tragedy.
Commending the efforts of the PGIMER team involved in the process, Prof. Jagat Ram, Director PGIMER stated, “PGIMER’s team of experts has enabled this landmark transplant within a tiny time frame. But it was not possible to reach this far without the gritty decision and selfless gesture of this donor family from Amritsar, who is the fulcrum on which the success of this transplant hinges.”
The baby born on 28th October had brain anomalies incompatible with life. Understanding that their daughter has very slim chances of survival, the parents brought her here in PGIMER on 25th November leaving no stone unturned. However, despite the cardiac arrest, the parents were so determined to see their baby live through others that they consented for organ donation.
Detailing about the case, Prof. Ashish Sharma, Head, Deptt. of Renal Transplant Surgery, PGIMER, shared, “Retrieving organs from children for transplant is rare, it is even more uncommon from such young babies with congenital anomalies. The case had its own kinds of challenges. On one hand, the donor was not even 40 days old so the retrieval was also not a routine procedure and demanded extreme deftness and skill to accomplish it successfully. On the other hand, the best-matched recipient being grown-up so both the kidneys were transplanted onto one recipient considering the age factor. Moreover, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to be extra cautious on every count and follow COVID protocols as well.”
Prof. Vipin Koushal, Nodal Officer, ROTTO PGIMER while expressing his sentiments, stated, “Life after death” merely sounds unrealistic until the organ donation gives it a meaning. This case of cadaver organ donation has been an epitome of humanity and self-sacrifice on two counts; the donor family’s courage and resolution to donate the organs of their angelic and cherubic baby who was not even forty days old and PGIMER’s determined efforts to make this rare transplant a success despite whatever odds.