The Hindu : Labourer's kin agree to cadaver harvest

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 10, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Labourer's kin agree to cadaver harvest

By Ramya Kannan

CHENNAI, MARCH 9. Ravi, a labourer, was declared brain dead after an accident. He was 27 years old and his family was willing to donate his organs.

Yesterday, at 10 a.m., doctors at the Government General Hospital certified that Ravi was `brain dead.' Half an hour later, after a brief counselling session, they were ready to let the doctors harvest Ravi's organs. ``We only told them that Ravi's organs will help others live. That convinced them,'' according to a doctor who was part of the team that harvested the organs at the GH early this morning.

This makes it the first cadaver harvest done in the GH in the past couple of years. ``Two other cadavers could have been used, but the relatives did not consent. So we had to suspend the idea,'' said the doctor. There has been a lull in the harvesting programme over the past few years, due to lack of positive response, he said.

The two kidneys and small intestine were removed; the corneas could not be extracted as they were opaque and the heart and lungs found no takers, so they were not removed. The liver could not be used. Attempts were made to find recipients for the organs that were removed within the GH, but since a blood match could not be found, they were channelised through an informal network among doctors to the Madras Medical Mission.

``We truly appreciate the gesture of Ravi's family and are surprised by the awareness that they possess of organ donation. It is because of them that three other people who were in dire straits were given a fresh lease of life,'' according to James Pandian, Dean, GH.

The family will be given a certificate of appreciation and the hospital will try to `help them out,' he said. To make things easier for the family, the post-mortem was completed as soon as possible and Ravi's body was taken to his residence free of cost.

``We would like more families to take inspiration from this case and come forward to donate the organs of their deceased relatives,'' said Dr. James Pandian.

Meanwhile, some doctors wondered if the incident was an occasion to make a critical introspection of the state of preparedness of government hospitals to respond to such emergencies.

``Though the organs went to patients who were in need, why could they not be used in the mammoth public health sector,'' asked a doctor, also working in the government sector.

``There are a number of patients waiting for kidneys in the four government hospitals in Chennai alone. The hospital should have tried to find a blood match from among them. That way, we can help more poor patients,'' he said.

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