Date:11/05/2004 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/05/11/stories/2004051101911900.htm

Back A mother's gift gives new life to 5

Our Bureau

Hyderabad , May 10

A RARE gift by a mother on Mothers' Day has rekindled life in five persons. Ms Sita Mahalakshmi, whose 11-year-old son died in an accident a couple of days back, approached doctors and expressed their family's willingness to donate the vital organs of the dead son.

As a result of the rare gesture, a 23-year-old youth, who is suffering from an end-stage heart disease, has got a healthy heart, a 17-year-old girl a liver and a youth of Gorakhpur (UP) two kidneys. Two others regained eyesight with Kaushik's eyes.

While Care Hospitals performed heart transplantation on a 23-year-old youth, Global Hospitals conducted liver and kidney transplantations, and the eyes were given to LV Prasad Eye Institute.

"Our son used to be first in everything. We would like him to be first ever after his death too when it comes to organ donation," Ms Sita Mahalakshmi and her husband, Mr Dinesh Kumar, told Ms Lalitha Raghuram, a Trustee of MOHAN (Multi-Organ Harvesting Aid Network) Foundation.

Incidentally, the boy became the youngest donor of organs in the State.

Aditya Kaushik, the only son of the couple, fell from the terrace of his house in Miyapur on May 7. He was admitted to Care Hospitals (Nampally) after getting first aid at Remedy Hospitals. He was declared brain dead on May 9, which is observed as Mothers' Day.

"This is the gift by a mother on Mothers' Day," Ms Sita Mahalakshmi said.

The three-hour heart transplantation, the second such intervention in the State, was conducted by a Care's team led by Dr Gopi Chand Mannam on Sunday night.

Dr B. Somaraju, Chairman of Care Hospitals, said that the hospital has started "an active heart failure program" in order to attend to growing number of patients with chronic heart failure.

Global Hospitals also conducted the first ever heart transplantation in the State recently.

Dr Mohamed Rela, a pioneer in liver transplantations, carried out the liver transplantation, while Dr G C Malakondaiah and his team performed the twin kidney transplant.