Odisha: Parents Of 2 Accident Victims Help Light Up Lives By Donating Their Eyes

Baripada: Barely a few days after parents of a brain-dead 14-year-old’s parents donated her organs in Odisha capital, another tale of selflessness has emerged from Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district.Parents of two tribal youths, who lost their lives in a road accident on Thursday, have helped illuminate life of others by donating their eyes.

The two youths, identified as Laxman Singh (20) and Rajen Singh (25), residents of Gudialbandh village and Dalkishole village under Balijoda police limits, were among three killed in a road accident at Baldiha Chhak on Baripada-Udala road in Mayurbhanj district.

Laxman and Akash (15) of Gudialbandh village were en route to Baripada when their Scooty collided head-on with Rajen Singh’s bike while he was heading towards Udala. Three of them were severely injured and rushed to Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Hospital (PRMMCH), where they were declared dead. Initial police investigation found reckless driving as the cause of the accident.

Despite the shock and trauma of losing their children, parents of the youths decided to donate their children’s eyes following which a medical team from PRMMCH safely collected those and sent to the LV Prasad Eye Institute in Bhubaneswar for transplantation on needy recipients, a hospital spokesperson informed media.

The decision to donate their organs was facilitated by an officer, (who did not wish to be named), who played a pivotal role in persuading the grieving parents to consent to the donation. “My nephew is not with us anymore. We will not be able to see him ever. But if his eye can be used to make another person see the world, so be it. We are happy to donate his eyes,” Raju Singh’s uncle Charan Singh told the media.

Similarly, Laxman Singh’s father Bahadur Singh said, “I am quite content with another person seeing the world with the eyes of my child. We will feel closer to him in this way.”