New Delhi: The family of a woman, who died on Thursday after being critically injured in celebratory firing during a New Year’s eve party, has donated her kidneys. The woman was wounded in the firing during a party at former Bihar MLA Raju Singh’s farm house. The MLA and his driver were arrested on Thursday, said Police.
Archana Gupta, 42, was an architect. She was brought to the emergency ward of the Fortis hospital in Vasant Kunj at 12:18 am on January 1 in critical condition and was put on life support. According to hospital authorities,
Till Wednesday, the patient continued to be in a critical state and on life support. Despite best efforts by our team of doctors, the patient could not be revived and was declared brain dead on January 2.
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Thereafter, the proposal to donate her organs for a larger cause was discussed with the family. After the consultation, the family agreed to donate her kidneys, said the hospital authorities.
According to NOTTO (National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation), once a patient is declared brain dead, a hospital can approach the family for organ donation.
NOTTO protocols and guidelines also stipulate that any hospital has to inform it about a possible organ donation after which the government body decides as to which organ is to be sent to which hospital. Specific locations are given based on a list of priority recipients, the hospital authorities said.
“In this case, after the necessary approvals and the hospital-wise rota (list) was decided by NOTTO, one kidney was sent to Apollo Hospital and the other given to Fortis Hospital, Vasant Kunj,” a hospital spokesperson said.
“Her family, displaying enormous strength and grit in their hour of grief decided to donate her kidneys. A no-objection certificate was obtained from the Delhi Police since this is a medico-legal case,” the hospital said in a statement.
In his complaint to police, Ms. Gupta’s husband had said that they were at the farm house on Monday night to celebrate the New Year along with friends and around midnight, two-three rounds were fired allegedly by Raju Singh. He immediately noticed that his wife had fallen down and was bleeding.
Incidentally, it was Fortis hospital which had informed the police after which a medico-legal case was registered. Mangla Dembi, Facility Director, Fortis Hospital, Vasnat Kunj, said,
We thank the donor’s family for recognising the importance of organ donation and are deeply appreciative of them to have agreed for this magnanimous and noble act in their hour of grief and irreparable loss.
Avnish Seth Director, Fortis Organ Retrieval and Transplant (FORT), said,
It is extremely motivating to see a gradual shift in public perception on the issue of organ donation in our country.
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NDTV – Fortis More To Give campaign aims to promote organ donation and encourage Indians to take the pledge to be an organ donor. India has among the lowest rates of organ donation in the world at 0.5 donor per million population, which is far less compared to over 30 donors per million in some western countries. On an average, five lakh Indians die every year unable to get an organ transplant in time due to the shortage of organs. Every year on National Organ Donation Day on November 27, a Walkathon is organised across different cities of India to raise awareness, bust myths about organ donation and encourage people to become organ donors. Over the years, the campaign has gathered support from celebrities like actor Irrfan Khan, Swara Bhasker, Gul Panag and Former Indian Hockey Captain Sandeep Singh.
