In death, 20-yr-old gives new lease of life to 4

Chandigarh: The life of Yash Pandey, all of 20, came to an abrupt end as he was declared brain dead at PGIMER on Friday following a fatal head injury. His bereaved family decided to donate his organs, which could save four lives. Yash from Prem Nagar, Lohara, Ludhiana, met with a serious accident on March 1 when he was knocked down by a speeding vehicle, leaving him with grievous head injuries.He was rushed to PGIMER but could not be revived and was declared brain dead on March 3.
After the declaration by the brain death certification committee, transplant coordinators at PGIMER approached Yash Pandey’s father to request him to consider organ donation.
The distressed father, Manoj Kumar Pandey said, “We were told by doctors that there was no possibility of our son returning to life once he was declared brain dead. We were then convinced that if his organs could be transplanted in other persons, he would continue to live in others. And that is our biggest consolation.”
Prof Vipin Koushal, medical superintendent, PGIMER said, “Following the father’s consent, the heart, one kidney, pancreas and corneas were harvested from the deceased. Once the donor organs became available, everyone swiftly got into action. As the cross-matching indicated no matching recipient for heart in PGIMER, we immediately got in touch with other transplant hospitals to explore options for matching recipients. Finally, the heart was allocated for a matching recipient with refractory heart failure admitted in Sir H N Reliance Hospital, Mumbai with the intervention of NOTTO (National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation).”
He added that to ensure safe and speedy transport of the harvested heart, a Green Corridor was created in conjunction with the retrieval timings from PGIMER to Technical AirPort Chandigarh for the transportation of retrieved heart for the onward flight to Mumbai on March 4.
The pancreas and kidney of the deceased were used for a terminally ill renal failure patient, giving him a second chance at life. The corneas were used on two patients in PGIMER, restoring their sight.