NEW DELHI: In less than 24 hours, AIIMS Delhi saw a second instance in which a family donated the organs of a brain dead girl, giving a new lease of life to two children, officials said on Sunday. Earlier, the family members of an 18-month-old girl who was declared brain dead, donated her organs, offering life to two and vision to two other children. Mansi from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh had fallen down from a height at her home on November 2. The eight-year-old girl suffered severe brain damage and was declared brain dead on November 11, professor of Neurosurgery at AIIMS, Dr Deepak Gupta told PTI. With the consent of her parents, her liver and a kidney were transplanted in a five-year-old who was undergoing treatment at Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences Hospital here. The other kidney was given to a child aged 12 years, who was on peritoneal dialysis for over five years and there was no suitable donor in the family. She had been undergoing treatment at AIIMS. Mansi’s corneas and heart valves have been preserved to be used in other children. “During the counselling, Mansi’s parents were told about Rolly’s story of organ donation after which they understood the concept of brain death and the need for organ donation,” he said. The parents of 6-year-old Rolly Prajapati, who was declared brain dead following a gunshot injury, had donated her vital organs — heart, liver, kidneys and corneas — in April this year. In Mansi’s case, organ procurement team from Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre and Organ Retreival Banking Organisation, AIIMS and National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation came together in facilitating the organ retrieval and transplantation process. Dr Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, AIIMS will do the corneal transplant in the coming weeks, Dr Gupta said. “I believe Rolly’s case has given a clear message to everyone to increase sensitisation in families towards this noble case. After that case, donations from children have been taking place at AIIMS,” he said. He advised parents to ensure that their balconies are at least twice the height of their children, saying fall from a height is the biggest killer among them in India. “Children often end up climbing the railing 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. Awareness on organ donation in rural background is still lacking big time. Most refusals come from senior members of the family who haven’t heard of organ donations, he said. India has 0.4 per million organ donation rates ( lowest in the world). USA and Spain have 50 per million population organ donation rates currently. The US completed 1 million organ donations in September. Under the new leadership, AIIMS Delhi has in the recent past made changes in organ procurement activities, as a result of which organ donations have picked up significantly in the last six months, Dr Gupta said. Fourteen organ donations have happened at AIIMS Delhi this year, the highest since 1994.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/aiims-delhi-family-of-brain-dead-8-year-old-girl-donates-organs-second-case-in-24-hours/articleshow/95489632.cms