In India, the current organ donation rate is less than one donor per million. (Representational)
A 52-year-old ailing man, who himself had received an organ two weeks ago at a leading private facility in Gurgaon, on Wednesday lent hope to three other patients as his liver and kidneys were donated to them after he was declared brain dead, hospital authorities said.
The man from Gurgaon was admitted to Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI) on September 21 and had undergone a liver transplant surgery the next day, the donor being a 44-year-old woman from the same city, they said.
"In a rare case, a 52-year-old organ recipient, after being declared brain-dead donated kidneys and liver to save three lives," the hospital said in a statement.
The FMRI claimed that the man had undergone a "successful liver transplant" on September 22.
On Wednesday, it said, the patient suffered from an episode of right-sided weakness with slurring of speech.
"On examination, MRI suggested intra-cranial hemorrhage with midline shift. The patient was put on ventilator support, however despite best efforts, the patient was declared brain dead," the statement said.
The man was declared brain dead on Tuesday, and the family consented to donate organs - both the kidneys and liver, and the same were allotted by National Organ & Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO), to a recipient at FMRI, and two patients at private hospitals in Delhi, the hospital authorities said.
Dr Anil Mandhani, Executive Director, Urology and Kidney Transplant, FMRI, along with his team conducted the procedure of retrieving both the kidneys, and a separate liver team from a private hospital retrieved the liver, the statement said.
One of the kidneys was transplanted into a 60-year-old woman at FMRI by Mandhani. The other kidney and his liver were given to a 51-year-old woman and a 54-year-old man respectively, at two different hospitals in Delhi, it added.
"I salute the donor and his family to have realised the value of organ donation and giving life to many ailing patients. We should all be a part of this noble act of giving life after death by donating organs. The patients who received the kidneys did not have genuine living donors and they were fighting for life, on dialysis for long. But this gentle act of donation gave them new lease of life," Mandhani said.
In India, the current organ donation rate is less than one donor per million population as compared to more than 30 donors per million in most western countries, the FMRI claimed.
"There is serious shortage of organs and the gap between the number of organs donated and the number people waiting for transplants is ever increasing," it said.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)