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Dead NRI teenager saves lives through organ donation

LONDON: An NRI teenager has saved the lives of five strangers after a ‘chance remark’ to her mother led to her organs being donated after she died suddenly from meningitis.

The family of Ruby Nagra authorised doctors to give her organs to patients waiting for transplants after the 18-year-old succumbed to a virulent form of meningitis. In the hours after Ruby’s death, her heart, liver, a lung and both kidneys were transplanted.

Ruby was six weeks into her first year at Nottingham Trent University when she called her parents to say that she had an eye infection and had been advised to attend a clinic in the city. She collapsed afterwards and was pronounced brain-dead.

“We are so proud of what she has done. I remember we had a conversation in a pub where she said, ‘Mum, if somebody needs something when I die, then I would give it to them.’ So we knew what she would have wanted,” Jasvinder Kaur, her mother was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph on Sunday.

Last week, a report commissioned by the government rejected introducing “presumed consent,” which would have allowed organs to be removed without the patient having given explicit permission. Such a change had been publicly backed by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical Officer.

“It is comforting to know she has saved those people. If this makes one other person think about donating, something has come of it,” her uncle said.

A spokeswoman for Nottingham Trent University said, “We were extremely saddened to hear of this death and our thoughts are with the family and friends at this very sad time.” – PTI

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