Brain dead man saves life of sexagenarian

M Santhana Gopalan (72), retired employee of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation from Noombal, was admitted to Sri Ramachandra Medical College on December 4 as he was suffering from bleeding in the brain. Santhana Gopalan failed to respond to the treatment and was declared brain dead on December 8. His wife Vijayalakshmi and two children came forward to donate his organs. 

The liver was transplanted in another man aged 63 by renowned transplant surgeon Mohamed Rela and his team. While his heart valves were sent to another hospital, his cornea was retained by Ramachandra Eye Bank. In the last two months, the centre has had about a dozen of donors. The altruistic donation has facilitated several life-saving transplants, according to a source from the hospital. “Without the magnanimity of the donor’s family members, these would not have been possible,” the source said. The source also said that there needs to be more organ donation, given the number of patients who require them.