Organs of 4-day-old infant donated
Staff ReporterHYDERABAD: In a rare act of kindness, parents of a four-day-old female infant donated her eyes and heart valves after she died in a city hospital on Monday.
This is perhaps the first time organs from such a young donor were harvested.
Parents Kishore Kumar and Hymavathi, and their relatives maintained that despite a short life, their child has given a new lease of life to others. “We failed to save our first child. And that's why we thought of helping children whose lives are in danger because of failing organs. “We can only hope that other parents too follow our example,” said the father, an employee of the revenue department in Mahabubnagar district.
A collective decision
Mr. Kumar said the decision to donate organs was a collective one. “My wife is a school teacher and she is very well aware about the difficulties of raising children. We can only draw solace from the fact that we have helped children who are in dire need of organs,” he added.
Hymavathi delivered a premature infant at Durgabai Deshmukh Hospital on July 8 and within two days the infant had developed complications, forcing doctors to put the infant on ventilator.
On Monday the infant died. Close relatives took the initiative and contacted Mohan Foundation to enquire about the possibility of donating organs. “We informed the relatives about the possibility of using heart valves and eyes. We counselled the parents and told them that despite death the infant will continue to live through organ donation,” CEO of Mohan Foundation K. Raghuram said.
The infant's eye and heart valves were collected at Innova Hospitals.
“Difficult and rare”
“Obtaining small-sized heart valves from baby donors is very difficult and rare. Commercially available valve tubes are very costly and have to be imported. Such donations will help save lives of children,” Mr. Raghuram said.
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