In his death, 42-year-old Baddi man turns saviour for 2 at PGI

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 31

The Panth family from Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, gave the greatest "gift of life" to two terminally ill patients suffering from debilitating renal disease with their selfless and generous act of organ donation of their deceased family member, Kailash Panth (42), at the PGI.

Kailash, an employee in the mechanical section of a Baddi-based company, Crompton Greaves Ltd, was admitted to the PGI on December 19 following an intra-cranial bleed. Kailash could not be revived and his 10-day-long agonising struggle between life and death ended when he was declared brain dead on December 28.

When transplant coordinator Navdeep Bansal raised the matter of organ donation with the family members, braving her own irreparable and untimely loss, Ruchi Panth, wife of Kailash, showcased exceptional initiative and consented for organ donation.

Ruchi conveyed the ultimate message that “we can save a life even in death” when she shared, “My kids are too young, they have lost their father at an age when they can’t even realise how their world has been doomed. No one can understand our pain. Hope our decision for organ donation helps some children turn lucky and save their parents. This will be our biggest tribute to the departed soul.”

Following the family’s decision, kidneys were retrieved from donor Kailash, which on transplantation gave a fresh lease of life to two patients suffering from end-stage kidney disease, thereby ending their daily struggle for survival.

Expressing his sentiments and paying tributes to the donor family, Prof Jagat Ram, Director, PGI, said, “The cadaver organ donation programme, in fact, hinges on the benevolent donor families. Their magnanimous and unconditional consent for organ donation of their departed dear one amid their own grief, actually, have enabled the PGI sustain the cadaver organ transplant programme. These families, like the Panth family from Baddi, reiterate our faith in goodness and in humanity beyond boundaries.”

The PGI team involved in translating this noble wish of the donor family into reality by giving a second lease of life to the terminally ill patients also deserves huge commendation. It is their tireless and incessant efforts that have helped save hundreds of precious lives over the years through transplantation,” said Prof Jagat Ram.

Tracing the cadaver organ donation programme through the year, Prof Vipin Koushal, Nodal Officer, ROTTO, PGI, said with this latest cadaveric organ donation of donor Kailash, the total number of major organs donated during 2019 was 73, saving 69 lives. Kidneys numbering 60 were the most widely retrieved organ. The other major organs harvested from deceased donors included liver, heart and pancreas. The cornea transplantation programme was also equally robust with 668 corneas donated during 2019.

“Though all this is going at a good pace, considering the burgeoning gap between donations and the dire need, the road ahead is really challenging and engagement by one and all for the cause may provide the answer,” sid Professor Koushal.