Parents Donate Organs Of 8-Yr-Old Brain-Dead Son In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: Parents of an eight-year-old boy on Sunday decided to donate his organs after he was declared brain dead at a private hospital in Odisha capital.

According to sources, Subhajit Sahu suffered a seizure attack on Wednesday while appearing for an exam at his school. He was rushed to Capital Hospital here. He was then admitted to an ICU of a nearby private hospital, where he was kept under observation for 72 hours. His condition improved a little after 24 hours. However, he showed no improvement thereafter and his brain subsequently stopped functioning.

His parents told the media that they want create awareness on organ donation by donating his heart, kidneys, eyes, pancreas and liver. “Our boy will not return but his organs can be used to save many lives,” they added.

On March 1, family of an 18-year-old boy decided to donate his kidneys after he succumbed to brain tumour while undergoing treatment at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. Prior to this, parents of two tribal youths, who lost their lives in a road accident, helped illuminate life of others by donating their eyes.

In a first for AIIMS Bhubaneswar, surgeons last month successfully retrieved a liver from a 14-year-old brain-dead girl, Damayanti Mahanta, and then sent it to a hospital in New Delhi through a green corridor. The last rites of Damayanti were performed at Swargadwara in Puri with full state honours on February 24.

Notably, Odisha has been conducting the funeral of organ donors with full state honours to “acknowledge the selfless and heroic contribution”. The initiative was brought into effect by a February 19 notification of the state health and family welfare department, and launched by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.