Organ donation: 20-yr-old girl Amanjot gives lease of life to three

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 3

The family of 20-year-old Amanjot, a computer science diploma student at Government Polytechnic, Ambala, who lost her life to a fatal head injury, turned their personal tragedy into an opportunity to change lives by donating her organs to end-stage organ failure patients battling for survival.

Liver, heart, lungs donated

• 20-year-old Amanjot lost her life at the PGI due to a head injury
• Kin decided to donate her heart, lungs and liver; barring liver, organs were shipped via green corridor
• PGI successfully performed its 75th liver transplant on a 24-year-old female patient
• A male patient at a Gurgaon hospital received heart, while a female patient at a Chennai hospital got the lungs

Amanjot’s heart, lungs and liver were harvested and transplanted to the recipients, giving them a new lease of life.

A 26-year-old male patient admitted to Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon received the heart, while a 62-year-old female patient admitted to MGM Hospital in Chennai received the lungs. The liver transplant was performed at the PGI, Chandigarh, giving a 24-year-old female patient a second chance at life. This is the 75th liver transplant since the inception of the deceased liver transplant programme at the PGI in 2011. In addition, 31 livers have been shared with hospitals across India for matching recipients, bringing the overall liver donations to 106.

Prof Vivek Lal, Director, PGI, expressed gratitude to the donor family, saying: “It takes a lot of courage to move beyond own grief and think of another’s need. It is an incredibly moving decision on their part to donate organs. We feel humbled by the trust reposed by them in the institute.”

The effort of the PGI team involved in the entire process, from the brain death certification committee to the transplant surgeons, was appreciated by the Director.

Amanjot’s brother Rohit Kumar said: “There are no words to describe someone being in our position. Still, we thought if we could save someone else from going through the agony that we are in, we should go ahead. Maybe that makes our pain a little bearable.”

The procedural formalities, harvesting process and transportation of organs were completed efficiently, with a green corridor being created from the PGI to the International Airport, Mohali, on May 2, enabling safe passage for the transport of retrieved heart and lungs for onward flights to Chennai and Gurgaon.

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