Kochi: Vinaya Kumar (48) of Kadungalloor, a contract labourer with FACT, made a mark even in his death, on Tuesday, as his heart was transplanted to a patient in Kottayam medical college, a first in the government sector in the state. His family donated six of his organs, including the heart, liver, kidneys and corneas.
He was returning home after a function on Sunday afternoon when his bike hit an electric post. “We took him to a nearby ESI hospital, where we were told that he had suffered a head injury and needed to be taken to a specialty hospital. We took him to another hospital, and then to Lourdes Hospital. Around 12 midnight on Monday, doctors told us that he was brain dead. Though it was a shock, relatives discussed the organ donation option with his wife and family, and they agreed,” Manjummel NSS Karayogam secretary KD Ravindran said.
The Knos (Kerala Network for Organ Sharing) alert went out around 2.30pm while the harvesting process began around 12.30am. “The heart was harvested by 3.30am and the Kottayam medical college team left Ernakulam by 4am. There were eight persons in the wait list for kidney. The cross-match clicked for patients at Kozhikode medical college and Lourdes,” said Dr Binu Upendran, nephrologist at Lourdes Hospital.
The liver went to a patient at Medical Trust Hospital here while the corneas went to Tony Fernandez Eye Hospital, Aluva. Dr Krishna Moorthy led the doctors’ team at Lourdes Hospital and besides Dr Binu Upendran, it included Dr Vimal Iype, Dr Shobha Philip, Dr Biju Pillai and Dr Punnose Thomas Puthuveettil.
Kumar is survived by wife Bindu, a homemaker, and four children. His eldest son Nivin Kumar (19) is pursuing BTech while the younger ones are Neeraj Kumar (13), Gopika (11) and Krishna (4). The body was cremated at Pathalam crematorium here in the evening. Earlier, there was a delay in handing over the body for autopsy due to the formalities involved.
“We can’t actually blame the hospital for the delay as it was the first time they came across such a situation. When a body is given for autopsy, the hospital has to issue a certificate with details of organ donation.The hospital authorities had to check with others and get the papers ready. However, it was disheartening for the relatives. It would be helpful if there is a district-level coordination committee for organ transplants,” Kumar’s friend and Kalamassery municipality councillor S Shaji said.
