Hands of deceased Indore trader flown to Mumbai on special flight, transplanted in young man

Indore: A 28-year-old man from Mumbai will now be able to explore things on his own after the hands of a deceased trader from Indore were flown on a special flight and transplanted in him, officials said on Tuesday.

His kidneys were transplanted in two patients at local hospitals, while his liver was flown to Mumbai on a special flight and was transplanted in a patient admitted at another hospital there.

An activist said family members of the deceased Surendra Porwal also donated his skin and eyes.

Porwal, who belongs to the Jain community, was declared brain dead after suffering a stroke following an appendix operation at a private hospital in Indore on December 23.

He had undergone surgery two years ago after suffering a brain haemorrhage, officials said.

Officials said Porwal had expressed his last wish to donate his organs which was fulfilled by his family members.

Porwal's organs were harvested when he was brain-dead.

"His hands were sent to Mumbai by a special flight and attached to a young man," Dr Sanjay Dixit, the founder-secretary of Indore Society for Organ Donation, told PTI.

He said that the recipient's hands stopped functioning after he suffered a severe electric shock a few years ago.

Sandipan Arya, an activist of Muskaan, an organisation promoting organ donation in Indore, said Porwal's two kidneys were transplanted in two patients admitted at local hospitals, while his liver was sent to Mumbai by a special flight and was transplanted in a patient in a hospital there.

He said Porwal's family also donated his skin and eyes.

Eyewitnesses said Porwal's body was given a tearful farewell at the local hospital on Tuesday.

A red carpet was laid to take his body on a stretcher to the ambulance. Doctors and other staff standing in queue paid their last respects by showering flowers.