Brain-dead man’s organs save lives in Kodagu’s first donation case

Madikeri: In a heart-warming move, Rajeshwari, a daily-wage labourer, donated multiple organs of her brain-dead husband Dalu, marking the first case of organ donation in Kodagu district.

Organ procurement from the donor patient was done at Kodagu Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), Madikeri.

The retrieval surgery began at 2 am Saturday. Two kidneys, heart valves and eye corneas were harvested. The donor patient’s mortal remains were later handed over to the family in a “walk of honour”.

Dalu, 46, from Aravathoklu village near Gonikoppa was admitted to KIMS after sustaining severe head injuries in a sudden fall near his house. According to his wife Rajeshwari, he was suffering from frequent seizures.

On the night of the incident, Rajeshwari, along with her pregnant daughter and son-in-law, first took him to Gonikoppa. Doctors there advised moving the patient to the district hospital in Madikeri, suspecting brain death.

On Monday morning, the family moved Dalu to Madikeri and contacted district surgeon Dr Nanjundaiah. Treatment was initiated in consultation with the KIMS dean, Dr Lokesh AJ, but his condition did not improve. That was when doctors suspected brainstem death.

As required under Indian law, a two-stage medical committee conducted examinations and confirmed brainstem death after 48 hours of observation.

Since KIMS is accredited with SOTTO and NOTTO, the case was reported to the State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO), and the procurement process was conducted under its guidance.

Urology surgeons Dr Sachin Dharwadkar and Dr Vijayakumar, who arrived from Mysuru, retrieved the kidneys. Dr Abhinandan and Dr Chandrashekar collected the heart valves, while Dr Shruti and her team collected the corneas.

ICU support was led by Dr Nishid Joseph and nursing officer Pavan, with nursing staff and senior nursing officers assisting throughout.

The hospital coordinated with Jeevasarthakathe, the state govt’s coordinating authority for deceased-donor organ and tissue transplantation, and other hospitals to identify recipients.

The kidneys were allocated to recipients registered with JSS Hospital, Mysuru; corneas went to recipients at Mysuru Medical College; and heart valves were transplanted at a private hospital in Bengaluru.

The lungs were not retrieved due to the absence of a suitable recipient.

Hailing the family of the donor patient, Dr Lokesh said the incident would help build awareness on organ donation.