Kolkata: Organ transplants from a donor at Apollo Gleneagles lights up six lives

Working closely with the Nodal Officer for Organ Donation, Department of Health and the Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (ROTTO), transplant surgeons at Apollo Gleneagles Hospital on Friday carried out three major organ transplants simultaneously after retrieving the heart, liver and kidneys  from a young male donor who had been declared brain dead on October 25, 2018 at the hospital.

The heart, liver and one kidney were transplanted into three recipients at Apollo Gleneagles , while the other kidney was sent to SSKM Hospital through a green corridor facilitated by the Kolkata Police. The corneas were transplanted at Disha Eye Foundation.

With the heart, liver and a kidney being transplanted into three patients, the harvesting of the organs and the three transplants being performed simultaneously is a milestone for not only Apollo Gleneagles but for the State and the Region.  This is also the maiden Heart retrieval in the city. The donor and recipients were all from Bengal.

The transplanted heart gave a second lease of life to a patient with refractory heart failure, while the liver was transplanted into a patient suffering from end-stage liver disease. The kidneys saved the lives of two patients with advanced kidney failure, one at Apollo Gleneagles and another at SSKM Hospital.

The Apollo Gleneagles team of doctors led by Dr Mahesh Kr Goenka (Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases) , Dr Sushan Mukhopadhyay ( Cardiac Surgeon) and Dr Mohan Chand Seal ( Renal Transplant Surgeon ) worked tirelessly throughout the night to provide the recipients a new lease of life

Rana Dasgupta, CEO, Apollo Gleneagles Hospital said, “Organ donation and transplants in Bengal have received a major  boost from the Government , and the Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO) working in tandem with private hospitals. The night of 25th October saw the family of a young boy who was declared brain dead, come forward to donating his organs in a laudatory gesture."

"Three organ transplants of heart, liver and a kidney led to the morning of 26th October dawning with new life for three patients at Apollo Gleneagles who were suffering from end-stage organ diseases. We are glad for this opportunity to give a second chance at life to the recipients and are happy that the transplants surgeries were uneventful. At the same time, the knowledge that the hope arises from a life that has been lost due to an unfortunate accident is a humbling thought and requires us to be very sensitive in our approach," Dasgupta said.

"The first heart transplant at Apollo Gleneagles is an important milestone in our journey to provide the best of medical care in West Bengal. Another highlight was the three transplant surgeries carried out in one night with three clinical teams working simultaneously. We thank the Nodal Officer for Organ Donation, ROTTO officials, police authorities and Forensic Department of NRS Medical College for their support," he said.