Parents of 10 Month Old Baby Showcase Exemplary Courage for Organ Donation 

10 months old Harshit became 'Beacon of Hope' for Many 

Chandigarh: 24th July, 2023: (Kartika Singh/Arth Parkash):: Little angel Harshit aged only 10 months became a ‘beacon of hope’ for many in-waiting organ failure patients as his parents’ generous decision of organ donation amid their own grim tragedy resulted in saving the lives of two patients suffering from end-stage organ failure and battling for survival, one at New Delhi and another at PGIMER Chandigarh. 

When the attending doctors broke the news to young parents Reena Rani and Anil Kumar from village Chhajju Nagala, tehsil Jagadhari, Yamunanagar that their beloved son Harshit wouldn’t pull through here at PGIMER, they knew they didn’t want his death to be in vain. 

“It’s something no family should have to go through.  We said yes to Organ Donation because we knew this could help someone else and they wouldn’t need to go through the heartache that we were going through.  We knew it was the right thing to do,” said the grief stricken but brave-heart parents of tiny Harshit.

Their Benevolence Saves 2 Terminally Ill Organ Failure Patients But Moves Many Hearts 

Prof. Vivek Lal, Director PGIMER, expressing PGIMER’s indebtedness to the donor family, stated, “It is an extremely hard decision, but the donor families are a ray of hope, a silver lining in the dark lives of organ failure patients. It is through their generous gifts that hundreds of people each year are given a second chance at life.”

Commending the efforts of the PGIMER team involved in the process, Director PGIMER further said, “PGIMER’s team of experts right from neuro surgeons, pediatricians, intensivists, transplant surgeons complimented by the extended teams from testing labs and nursing units, has successfully accomplished  this landmark transplant within a tiny time frame. But it was not possible to reach this far without the gritty decision and selfless gesture of the donor family of little Harshit,  who is the fulcrum on which the success of this transplant hinges.

It was a picture perfect moments for Reena Rani on 12th July. Her 10 month old angel like son playing gleefully in his baby cot and she thoroughly enjoying his every gesture, every movement till in a split second, the little one rolled over and fell from the cot. Before Reena Rani could realize, her little one had already slipped into coma due to fatal head injury.

The family immediately rushed the little one to a local civil hospital and then to a private hospital. However, due to a worsening prognosis, he was shifted to PGIMER in an extremely critical condition on 17th July.

With Transplantation of Liver at New Delhi sent through Green Corridor & Dual Kidneys here at PGIMER 

Though the doctors attending the infant tried their level best to save his life but when they called Reena Rani and her husband Anil Kumar into a room, they both knew instantly it was terrible news. “We can’t blame anyone but our own destiny,” shared Anil Kumar, while trying to come to terms with the dark reality.

Subsequently, as per protocols of THOA 1994, Harshit was declared brain dead on 19th July. Following this, the transplant coordinators at PGIMER approached the grief-stricken parents , to request if they could consider organ donation. The resolute and brave heart father showcased immense grit and consented for organ donation.

“We hope our son’s story will inspire families who find themselves in the same position. We want to aware people on organ donation to realize that death is not the end of things, people can live on through others, through this,” said grieving father of Harshit.

 Prof. Vipin Koushal, Addl. Medical Superintendent PGIMER and acting Nodal Officer, ROTTO (North), while detailing about the latest case, said, “After family's consent, we secured his liver and kidneys. Once the donor organs became available, everyone swiftly got into action leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the donor’s legacy continues. As the cross-matching indicated no matching recipient for Liver in PGIMER, we immediately got in touch with other transplant hospitals to explore options for matching recipients and finally, Liver was allocated to one 11 month old male matching recipient admitted in ILBS New Delhi with the intervention of NOTTO”
To ensure safe and speedy transport of the harvested organs, a Green Corridor was created in conjunction with the retrieval timings from PGIMER to Technical AirPort Chandigarh at around 12.30 hrs to enable safe passage for the transport of the retrieved liver for the onward Indigo 6E 2195 flight scheduled at 1.15 pm to Delhi on Thursday.”

Prof. Ashish Sharma, Head Deptt. of Renal Transplant Surgery, PGIMER, who along with his team, successfully accomplished dual transplant, shared, “The case had its own kinds of challenges. On one hand, the donor was an infant so the retrieval was also not routine procedure and demanded extreme deftness and skill.  On the other hand, the best matched recipient was 35 year old male, so both the kidneys were transplanted to one  recipient considering his age factor.” 

The exemplary courage and benevolence of Reema Rani and Anil Kumar, the aggrieved parents of donor Harshit saved 2 terminally ill organ failure patients but moved many hearts.