A brain dead person in Kerala has given fresh lease of life to eight persons by organ donation.
It is said to be for the first time in Kerala, and perhaps in India, that the organs of one person are being donated to eight others.
Kelvin Joy, 39, hailing from North Pravoor in Eranakulam district, met with a road accident recently and suffered brain hemorrhage. He was under treatment at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences in Kochi where he was declared brain dead on Saturday.
As per Kelvin's wish, his relatives, including parents V R Joy and Margret gave consent for organ donation through the Kerala government's organ donation programme, 'Mrithasanjeevani'.
Kelvin's both hands were donated to one patient in AIMS. His heart, small intestine, liver and corneas were donated to five patients in AIMS, while his kidneys were donated to two patients at Lourdes Hosptial in Kochi and Kozhikode government medical college hospital.
Mrithasanjeevani state nodal officer Dr. Noble Gracious told DH that earlier there was an instance of organs of a single patient being donated to six persons in Kerala. But it seems to be for the first time even in the country that the organs of one person was being transplanted to eight persons.
Owing to the spike in Covid-19 cases, organ transplant was not getting much focus. Even then organs of six persons were donated during the last few months. Health Minister K K Shailaja took the initiative in speeding up the procedures.
Earlier there were reports that organ donation in Kerala was hit owing to apprehensions over unethical practices in the field, which was triggered by a Malayalam film, 'Joseph'. However, now the situation was changing and in some cases the relatives of the brain dead patients were pressurising to donate organs as per the wish of the deceased, said a doctor.