10-month-old is Kerala’s youngest organ donor, saves 4 lives

KOCHI: Ten-month-old Aalin Sherin Abraham, hailing from Pathanamthitta, has become Kerala's youngest organ donor, saving four lives after she was declared brain-dead following a road accident.

The toddler was critically injured in a mishap at Pallam near Kottayam on MC Road on Feb 5 afternoon. A vehicle approaching from the opposite direction collided with the car in which Aalin, her mother and maternal grandparents were travelling. The child was initially provided treatment at hospitals in Changanassery and Thiruvalla, before being shifted to Amrita Hospital in Kochi for advanced care on Feb 6 night.


However, despite intensive medical efforts, the toddler could not be brought back to life. Doctors confirmed her brain death on Friday afternoon.

Aalin was the daughter of Arun Abraham and Sherin Ann John, residents of Mallappally in Pathanamthitta district.

Even in their difficult hours, Aalin's parents made a decision to offer hope to others. Choosing to look past their own loss, they consented for organ donation.

The process to donate the organs was coordinated through govt agency Kerala State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization.

Aalin's heart valve has been arranged to be sent to Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology and her liver to KIMS Hospital, both in Thiruvananthapuram, and her kidneys to Thiruvananthapuram medical college. Additionally, the child's eyes will be handed over to the eye bank.

Health minister Veena George thanked the toddler's parents for their decision to save the lives of others despite their immense grief.

"A 10-month-old toddler has become the state's youngest donor…it was following a road mishap that toddler Aalin, daughter of Mallapally natives, suffered a brain death. The child's parents expressed their willingness to donate her organs. Two kidneys will be given to a 10-year-old child undergoing treatment at the SAT Hospital," wrote the minister on her social media post, while condoling the family over their bereavement.

The organs were transported by road from Kochi to Thiruvananthapuram. "The body was handed over to the relatives after the procedures on Friday night," said hospital authorities.

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