Family from Mewat donates her brain dead girl’s organs at Delhi’s AIIMS

Two patients will now have a new lease on life thanks to the organ donation from the family of an 18-month-old girl who was certified brain dead at All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

Mahira, a native of Mewat in Haryana, had suffered a fall from the balcony of her house on November 6 and was rushed to AIIMS Trauma centre in an unconscious state with evidence of severe brain damage.

“She was declared brain dead on November 11 morning,” Professor of Neurosurgery at AIIMS, Dr Deepak Gupta told PTI.

He said her liver has been transplanted in a six-month old child at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS), while both her kidneys transplanted successfully in a 17-year-old boy at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

Her corneas and heart valves have been preserved for later use, Gupta said.

After master Rishant (16-month-old), Mahira is the second-youngest child in Delhi/NCR whose organs were donated by the family.

Mahira is the third child at the AIIMS trauma centre to donate organs in the previous six months.

“Rolly was the first child followed by 16-month-old Rishant whose organs were donated by his family in August. During counselling, Mahira’s parents were told about Rolly’s story after which they understood the concept of brain death and the need for organ donation to save the lives of others. They then agreed to donate her organs,” Dr Gupta said.

The parents of 6-year-old Rolly gave her crucial organs—her heart, liver, kidneys, and corneas—in April of this year after she was diagnosed as brain dead as a result of a gunshot wound.

The professor advised that every home’s balcony be raised to be twice the height of a child because falls from heights are India’s leading cause of death for youngsters.

“Children often end up climbing railing of the house in balcony unprotected and fall over. Many such children die or sustain severe head injuries. Such deaths and injuries are completely preventable,” he told PTI.

He also said that awareness on organ donation in rural areas is not adequate and that most refusals come from senior members (grandparents/elders) who have not heard of this concept.

“Law in our country needs to be looked into and changed to ‘opt out law’ (everyone who meets with an accident is presumed to be organ donor) as against ‘opt in law’ (currently existing law where family consent is needed). A majority of families refuse organ donation out of ignorance or their inability to understand the urgent need of organs to save the lives of those suffering from end stage diseases,” Dr Gupta underlined.

India has 0.4 per million plation organ donation rates (lowest in the world). The US and Spain have 50 per million population organ donation rates. In India, on an average, 700 organ donors donate organs after brain death, he said.

The United States recently completed 1 million organ donations in September this year.

AIIMS Delhi has in recent past made changes in organ procurement activities under the new leadership as a result of which organ donations have picked up significantly in the last six months. Fourteen organ donations have happened at AIIMS Delhi this year, the highest ever number since 1994, Dr Gupta added.