4-Year-Old Brain-Dead Girl Saves Lives Of Two Patients In Chandigarh

A four-year-old girl, declared brain dead following an accident, gave a new lease of life to two patients suffering from end-stage renal failure at the PGIMER here after her parents donated her organs.

According to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), the girl from Himachal Pradesh had a fall on January 2 and she became unconscious. Her family immediately rushed her to a hospital before she was referred to PGIMER on January 3 in an extremely critical condition.

Despite best efforts by doctors, she could not be revived and subsequently, she was declared brain dead on January 9, the PGIMER said in a statement on Thursday.

“When it became clear that the little girl would not come out of her precarious condition, the transplant coordinators at PGIMER approached the grief-stricken father, to request if he could consider organ donation. The resolute and braveheart father showcased immense grit and consented for organ donation,” it said.

“The little angel became a beacon of hope for many in-waiting organ failure patients as her parents’ generous decision of organ donation amid their own grim tragedy resulted in saving the lives of two patients suffering from end-stage renal failure and battling for survival,” the statement said.

The father, seeking anonymity, said that no family should have to go through such a tragedy.

“We said yes to organ donation because we knew this could help someone else and they wouldn’t need to go through the heartache that we were going through,” said the father, as per the PGIMER statement.

He hoped that his daughter’s story would inspire families who find themselves in a similar position. “We want to make people aware of organ donation to realise that death is not the end of things, people can live on through others, through this.”

Expressing the institute’s indebtedness to the donor family, PGIMER Director Vivek Lal said, “It is an extremely hard decision, but the donor families are a ray of hope, a silver lining in the dark lives of organ failure patients. It is through their generous gifts that hundreds of people each year are given a second chance at life.”

“At the same time, we cannot underestimate the commitment of the entire team of PGIMER involved in the process right from brain death certification committee, neuro surgeons, transplant coordinators, testing labs, treating doctors and especially intensivists who maintain the potential donor in the best condition for optimum usage of organs and transplant surgeons who save precious lives with their skill and synergy,” the director added.