Organs Harvested From Brain Dead Patient At Bhubaneswar’s SUMUM Saves 2 More Lives

Bhubaneswar: Organs of a brain dead patient were harvested at SUM Ultimate Medicare (SUMUM) here and rushed to two city-based hospitals for transplantation in two critically-ill patients, providing a new lease of life to two critically ill patients on Wednesday.

Hospital sources said Alekh Prasad Parida (59) from Nilagiri area in Balasore district was admitted on Sunday after suffering a brain stroke. was subjected to a brainstem reflex test on Monday which was found to be negative. It was followed by an apnea test which confirmed that the patient was brain dead, said senior consultant of critical care medicine Dr Alok Panigrahi.

The hospital authorities then approached the family members of the patient to find out if they would be willing to donate his organs to which they agreed.

The hospital then got in touch with the State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO) to set in motion the harvesting of organs. The organs, including kidney, were retrieved after approval, according to senior consultant of neurosurgery Dr Somnath Jena.

This was the third multi-organ retrieval from a single donor at SUMUM in last 16 months. “Organ donation is the need of the hour to save lives. We hope to build on these early achievements and expand the initiative,” said SUMUM CEO Dr Swetapadma Dash.

She added that the hospital had provided employment to the widow of Prasenjit Mohanty, the first organ donor, as the family’s decision to donate the organs saved lives of four people. She is working in the radiology department.

The first organ harvesting from a brain dead patient was conducted at SUMUM in June 2023 when five organs were retrieved and sent to hospitals in New Delhi and Kolkata for transplantation. Nine months later, two organs of another brain dead patient were harvested and sent for transplantation in patients under treatment in hospitals at Mumbai and Kolkata. “The organ donation procedures were being done in adherence to all the rules and regulations of SOTTO,” she added.