New Delhi, 24th February 2025: On the morning of 17th February 2025, a 68-year-old woman suffered a seizure attack followed by rapid loss of consciousness. Her family immediately rushed her to HCMCT Manipal Hospital, Dwarka where an urgent CT scan confirmed massive brain hemorrhage. Despite the best efforts of the medical team, her condition deteriorated rapidly, and she was declared brain dead on 20th February 2025.
Her 72-year-old husband, along with the family, took the courageous decision to donate her organs. After his consent, both the kidneys and corneas were donated. Other organs were found unfit for transplantation. Her kidneys were allocated through NOTTO (National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization). One kidney was transplanted into a 51-year-old female at HCMCT Manipal Hospital Dwarka, while the other kidney was transplanted in a 40-year-old male at another city hospital. Mrs. Verma’s corneas were donated to Niramaya Eye Bank.
Also Read: Eat right for your heart to beat right
Dr. Shrikanth Srinivasan, Chairman, Manipal Institute of Critical Care Medicine, HCMCT Manipal Hospital, Dwarka said, “After initial stabilization of her condition including ventilatory support, CT scan revealed that she had suffered from a massive brain hemorrhage. Despite intensive treatment under the care of the Neurosurgery and Critical Care teams, she could not recover and was declared brain dead on 20th February 2025 at 05:32 pm.”
Dr. (Col) Avnish Seth VSM, Chairman, Institute of Gastroenterology & Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Sciences, NCR Cluster and Head Manipal Organ Sharing & Transplant (MOST) said, “Organ donation is a powerful act of kindness and an often-ignored aspect of End of Life Care. Dr. Anurag Saxena, Cluster Head of Neurosurgery, along with the Critical Care team, took the effort to explain the concept of brain death with a beating heart to the family. The family’s decision has helped save lives and given renewed hope to others.”
There is a wide gap between patients who need transplants and the organs that are available in India. 1.8 lakh people suffer from kidney failure every year, however, only 13,426 kidney transplants were performed in 2023. An estimated 25,000 to 30,000 liver transplants are needed annually in India, but only 4491 were performed in 2023. Similarly, out of several thousand people suffering from heart failure, only 221 received a heart transplant. In the case of corneas, about 25,000 transplants are performed annually against a requirement of 1 lakh.
The noble act of organ donation highlights the pressing need for organ donations in India, as there is a significant disparity between patients awaiting transplants and the availability of organs. Increasing awareness and participation in organ donation can bridge this gap and offer hope to countless lives in need.
About Manipal Hospitals
As a pioneer in healthcare, Manipal Hospitals is among the top healthcare providers in India serving over 7 million patients annually. Its focus is to develop an affordable, high quality healthcare framework through its multispecialty and tertiary care delivery spectrum and further extend it to out of hospital care. With the completion of acquisition of Medica Synergie hospitals and AMRI Hospitals Limited (acquired in Sept 2023), the integrated network today has a pan-India footprint of 37 hospitals across 19 cities with 10,500+ beds, and a talented pool of 5,600+ doctors and an employee strength of over 18,600.
Manipal Hospitals provides comprehensive curative and preventive care for a multitude of patients from around the globe. Manipal Hospitals is NABH, AAHRPP accredited and most of the hospitals in its network are NABL, ER, Blood Bank accredited and recognized for Nursing Excellence. Manipal Hospitals has also been recognised the most respected and patient recommended hospital in India through various consumer surveys.
Platforms like EasyShiksha.com offer valuable courses that can help you gain the necessary skills.
