The family of a deceased advocate from Virar donated her kidneys, small intestine, heart and cornea on Wednesday. These organs were given to needy patients at JJ Hospital, Global Hospital, and Kokilaben and Nanavati hospitals. For the first time, a small intestine was donated and successfully transplanted in Mumbai. It is also the first organ donation in a public hospital after the Covid-19 pandemic.
The donor, 43-year-old Reena Bansode, was admitted to JJ Hospital on May 15 and was declared brain dead on Wednesday. Her family was counselled by doctors, following which her husband gave consent to donate her organs. A team of doctors immediately started the organ retrieval procedure. This is the first time in the city that a small intestine was donated and transplanted successfully. The recipient at Global Hospital is recuperating well after the surgery.
According to transplant experts, there is an urgent need to boost and encourage organ donation in public hospitals, as they see more cases of accidents. In Mumbai, as per the Zonal Transplant Coordination Centre (ZTCC), 3,325 patients are waiting for a cadaver kidney and 328 for a cadaver liver. The waitlist for small bowels is seven, the pancreas is 12, the heart is 28 and nine for the lungs. In 2019, Mumbai saw 76 organ donors, 30 donations in 2020 and 32 organ donors in 2021. This year, 18 organ donations have taken place till now.
Bansode and her relatives have set an encouraging precedent. She saved lives even after death, said doctors of JJ Hospital. As per tradition after organ donation, doctors and staff from the hospital gave a salutation to the deceased for her service to humanity.
