16-month-old baby becomes youngest organ donor at AIIMS, saves 2 lives

New Delhi, Aug 25: A 16-month-old toddler named Rishant from Delhi has served a noble cause far beyond his age. He has become the youngest organ donor, offering a fresh lease of life to two patients.

Reportedly, the boy was the youngest organ donor at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The boy suffered fatal injuries due to a fall and was declared brain dead at the AIIMS.

His father, Upinder, a private contractor, took him to a nearby private hospital in Jamuna Park. He was transferred to the Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre at the AIIMS the same afternoon.

"The child was born to donate. He fought for eight days after suffering severe head injury. He had sustained severe head injury and CT scan showed irreversible severe damage to the whole brain," Dr Deepak Gupta, Professor of Neurosurgery at AIIMS, told PTI.

He was declared brain dead on August 24. His kidneys have been transplanted in a five-year-old boy at the AIIMS and liver has been transplanted in a six-month-old girl at the Max Hospital. His heart valves and corneas have been banked at the AIIMS.

The retrieval of organs began at 2 am on Thursday and continued till 5 am.

What the father says about organ donation

"Rishant was the sixth and youngest child. I was busy leaving for work on the morning of the fateful day and couldn't even hold my baby in my arms. It breaks my heart that we have lost him. But when we came to know about organ donation, I felt that if his organs can save the lives of others, then I must donate them," the father said.

"We donate food, clothes, money to the needy. Today our child is no longer with us, only his memories and body remains," said Upinder.

During the counselling, the parents were told about Rolly's story of organ donation after which they were more convinced about the need of organ donation of their child to save other lives.

India & organ donation

In India, organ donations are legal under the Transplantation of Human Organs Act (THOA), 1994, that also legalises the concept of 'brain death', a permanent cessation of all brain functions. In brain death, a person cannot sustain life, but vital body functions can be maintained in an ICU.