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Accident victim's organs give new lease of life to others

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Press Trust of India Hyderabad
Family members of a road accident victim have donated her organs, giving a new lease of life to end stage disease patients, according to a city hospital.

Kanchan Singh, 36, met with a road accident on November 6 and had suffered a severe head injury.

She was taken to the emergency room at Apollo Hospitals in an unconscious state and was admitted in ICU, as her condition was critical, Apollo Hospitals said in a statement.

"Despite all efforts of neurosurgeon to revive her by performing emergency brain surgery, the patient remained unconscious and was finally declared brain dead on November 12," it said.
 

The family members, despite the bereavement, took the bold decision and came forward to donate her organs.

Her kidneys, liver, heart valves and cornea were retrieved and transplanted successfully by teams of professionals in end stage disease patients, thereby giving a new lease of life to them, it added.
Meanwhile, Pawar said the government's attempt is to

convince relatives of young patients, who are declared brain dead, to donate their organs.

"The window period to transplant harvested organs is about five to six hours. If the organs are to be transported outside cities like Mumbai, then the management at airport and traffic management has to be dealt with," he said.

"At present, the airlines charge anywhere between Rs 70,000 to Rs 1 lakh per organ. The average cost of transportation of organs comes to around Rs 3 lakhs. The government is trying to transport more than one organ at the same time to reduce the transportation costs," he said.

He said the government has mooted the proposal of appointing a designated nodal officer of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, who will coordinate issuance of necessary NoCs, make traffic arrangements, and deal with legal issues.

Assistant Director of Health Gauri Rathod said often issues of jurisdiction are raised by police.

"Police will be sensitised about their role in handling such matters," she said.

Besides, the transportation of organs within the state, there are issues of inter-state transportation also, she said.

The government is contemplating waiving 20 per cent of state taxes levied on airlines for air ambulances, which will reduce the transportation costs, Rathod said.

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First Published: Nov 19 2015 | 1:32 PM IST

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