Organ donation in Surat has helped five patients after the family of a 56-year-old brain-dead woman from Olpad agreed to donate her liver, kidneys and corneas following an appeal by Olpad MLA Mukesh Patel. The organs were transported to Ahmedabad and distributed in Surat with assistance from a police green corridor.
Manjulaben Kantibhai Patel, a resident of Naghoi village in Olpad, was travelling home with her husband on a two-wheeler from Kavas village on October 1 when an unidentified vehicle hit them near Bhesan Chowkdi. A passerby took the couple to Shree Hospital, after which Manjulaben was shifted to Lifeline Multispeciality Hospital for further treatment.
A CT scan found a haemorrhage in her brain. Doctors performed surgery to remove a clot, but she was declared brain dead on October 3, according to the report. Her family then agreed to donate her organs after discussions with Patel, who is also a relative.
Patel said Manjulaben was his maternal aunt and that he spoke to her husband, Kantibhai Patel, as well as her son and daughter about the impact organ donation could have on patients with organ failure. He subsequently contacted Donate Life, an organisation that assists with organ donation.
After the required formalities, the family agreed to donate two kidneys, a liver and both eyes. The liver and kidneys were allocated to the Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre in Ahmedabad, where they were to be transplanted into three patients awaiting organs. The corneas were accepted by Lok Drashti Eye Bank in Surat and were expected to help restore sight to two people.
Kantibhai Patel said his wife’s organs would otherwise have been cremated and that the donation could give other patients a new lease of life. The decision turned a road accident involving a local family into a time-sensitive coordination exercise involving hospitals, an organ donation organisation, an eye bank and police authorities across two cities.
The Surat city police created a green corridor to transport the liver and kidneys to Ahmedabad within the required time. The arrangement enabled the organs to move from Surat towards the receiving institution while meeting the medical timeline for transplantation. The report did not provide details of the recipients or confirm the outcomes of the planned transplants.