BENGALURU: When Tharun Balachandra, 18, suffered a severe head injury following a fall and became brain dead, his grieving parents donated his organs, giving the gift of life to six middle-aged persons.
The sole breadwinner of the family, Tharun was from Shivamogga district. To earn money and support his parents, Tharun moved to Bengaluru and worked in a restaurant and at a construction site.The tragic accident occurred while he was descending a staircase without a railing at a construction site in Kengeri on December 18.
He was rushed to a nursing home and then shifted to BGS Gleneagles Global Hospitals. He was unconscious when he was brought to the hospital, recalled Dr Naveen MA, head of the department and senior consultant neuro and spine surgeon, Gleneagles Hospital. “He had subdural hematoma, a type of bleeding wherein there was a pool of blood between the brain and its outer covering. We took a chance and operated on him but he couldn’t make it,” said Dr Naveen.
“Like the heart beats, the brain pulsates. You can see it when you open the skull. Tharun’s brain didn’t pulsate at all. It indicated severe brain injury. Such patients don’t survive. We waited around 48 hours. We checked for other vitals and spontaneous breaths. The brain stem reflexes were absent and his condition didn’t improve. He was on ventilator support. They usually survive for 1-2 days and then succumb to death,” he explained. The grief counsellor at BGS spoke with Tharun’s attenders and relatives. “They were very sad when they came to know he wasn’t likely to survive,” recalled Sarala Anantharaj, chief grief counsellor and general manager, multi-organ transplant, BGS.
“Initially, they were reluctant on organ donation. The very thought of his body being dissected was too traumatic for them. I talked to them for 45 minutes and finally they gave consent.”
All the organ recipients are men. Tharun’s eyes were donated to Prabha Eye Bank. The liver and heart transplants were performed at BGS while the kidney recipient underwent transplant at Narayana Health. “Some recipients had been waiting for organ for 3-4 years. The heart recipient had been suffering for one year,” said Anantharaj, adding that people in villages are more willing to pledge their organs than city dwellers.
The sole breadwinner of the family, Tharun was from Shivamogga district. To earn money and support his parents, Tharun moved to Bengaluru and worked in a restaurant and at a construction site.The tragic accident occurred while he was descending a staircase without a railing at a construction site in Kengeri on December 18.
He was rushed to a nursing home and then shifted to BGS Gleneagles Global Hospitals. He was unconscious when he was brought to the hospital, recalled Dr Naveen MA, head of the department and senior consultant neuro and spine surgeon, Gleneagles Hospital. “He had subdural hematoma, a type of bleeding wherein there was a pool of blood between the brain and its outer covering. We took a chance and operated on him but he couldn’t make it,” said Dr Naveen.
“Like the heart beats, the brain pulsates. You can see it when you open the skull. Tharun’s brain didn’t pulsate at all. It indicated severe brain injury. Such patients don’t survive. We waited around 48 hours. We checked for other vitals and spontaneous breaths. The brain stem reflexes were absent and his condition didn’t improve. He was on ventilator support. They usually survive for 1-2 days and then succumb to death,” he explained. The grief counsellor at BGS spoke with Tharun’s attenders and relatives. “They were very sad when they came to know he wasn’t likely to survive,” recalled Sarala Anantharaj, chief grief counsellor and general manager, multi-organ transplant, BGS.
“Initially, they were reluctant on organ donation. The very thought of his body being dissected was too traumatic for them. I talked to them for 45 minutes and finally they gave consent.”
All the organ recipients are men. Tharun’s eyes were donated to Prabha Eye Bank. The liver and heart transplants were performed at BGS while the kidney recipient underwent transplant at Narayana Health. “Some recipients had been waiting for organ for 3-4 years. The heart recipient had been suffering for one year,” said Anantharaj, adding that people in villages are more willing to pledge their organs than city dwellers.