A child's parting gift: Liver, kidneys and cornea

A Bengaluru-based businessman, who lost his entire family in a car crash in Mohali near Chandigarh, served a noble cause by donating the kidneys, liver and cornea of his two-and-a-half-year old daughter Anaika who succumbed to injuries on Wednesday, 10 days after the accident.

Five people, including a seven-year-old terminally ill boy, were given a new lease of life.

While the boy was admitted at the Institute of Kidney Diseases And Research Centre (IKDRC), Ahmedabad, the other four were in the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh. PGIMER staffers and doctors paid floral tributes to Anaika after her organs were retrieved.

Green corridor

A green corridor was created from the hospital to the international airport in Mohali to transport the harvested liver to Ahmedabad. Her kidneys were transplanted to patients of renal failure in PGIMER. Anaika’s harvested cornea helped in the restoration of sight of two corneal blind patients.

Anaika’s father Amit Gupta had reached Chandigarh after he was informed about the accident in which he lost his wife, son and three relatives on the spot. The family was in Chandigarh to visit Anaika’s grandparents. “I have lost everything… my wife, my son and now even my daughter. My world is doomed. Can there be anything more traumatic? I wanted to help someone from this terrible pain of losing a family member.

“With organ donation, this terrible tragedy can serve a noble purpose of actually giving life to others. I have lost my daughter, but she continues to live on in others. It is an amazing legacy and is some succor to my unbearable loss.”

Anaika battled for life for several days at the hospital. She was declared brain dead a few days ago.

Prof Surjeet Singh, director, PGIMER, said: “This noble act of the family is praiseworthy and should motivate others. It was a very courageous decision taken by the Gupta family.”

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