Dead boy’s heart beats again

Relatives of Thota Manikanta, a 21-year-old boy who was declared brain dead following a road accident, decided to donate the boy’s organs

The city woke up to the news of a young brain dead patient’s relatives declaring that his organs would be donated to save lives of other patients in dire need of organ transplantation. Every reusable organ like heart, lungs, kidneys, eyes and liver of Thota Manikanta were donated by his family members to the Jeevadaan organisation.

The lungs and heart of Manikanta were transplanted to a single patient at Fortis Hospital in Chennai, while the two kidneys were allotted to two patients from Guntur. The liver was allotted to a patient at Global Hospitals in Hyderabad. The eyes were grafted to two patients at the NRI Hospital.

The incident took the public and doctors by surprise and everyone was attracted to the news. A team of doctors from the Chennai Fortis Hospital, who needed lungs and a heart for a patient, flew down to the city in a special aircraft along with paramedical staff to take the organs to Chennai within hours of extraction from the donor. Cardiac surgeon Dr Gopalakrishnan and anesthesiologist Dr Suresh Rao collected the organs from NRI Hospital at Mangalagiri, where Manikanta had been admitted.

The doctors from Chennai arrived at the Dr NTR University of Health Sciences at 1.30 pm to meet Vice Chancellor Prof. T Ravi Raju. Raju along with the team of doctors headed to NRI Hospital to collect the organs. By 6 pm, the organs were lifted in an air ambulance at Gannavaram airport. City Police Commissioner AB Venkateswara Rao had made elaborate arrangements for the smooth and quick movement of the ambulance from the hospital to the airport. The route was declared a green zone and was cleared of any vehicular movement that could obstruct the ambulance carrying the organs.

People made bee lines on roads to catch a glimpse of the vehicle carrying the organs, a first to have occurred in the State. Onlookers and people who watched the scene on television sets were filled with sympathy and also wonder. As the ambulance reached Ramavarappadu ring road junction, Manikanta’s friends and relatives showered the vehicle with flowers, hailing the deed as a sacrifice that would give new life to six others.

Prof. Ravi Raju said, “It is a very sad moment for the donor’s family and their gesture must be appreciated. I express my deepest condolences to the family and congratulate them for taking a brave decision. This is very welcoming that people of the city have contributed to some good cause that could save lives of many.”

My brother lives everywhere: Jyothi

Thota Manikanta, a driver by profession, was the major bread winner of the family before meeting with a fatal accident on March 3. He was hit by a speeding vehicle at Bharatinagar in the city.Manikanta was admitted in NRI Hospital, where he was declared brain dead. The family members decided to donate his organs so as to give other people in need of organs a chance to live. It was Manikanta’s younger sister, Jyothi, a paramedical staff, who convinced the family.

They then immediately conveyed their decision to the superintendent of the hospital. “Though my brother is not present here physically, he now lives everywhere. He was the major breadwinner for the family when he was alive. Now, he is going to give life for many and we are happy in knowing that,” Jyothi said.

Ambulance reaches airport in 24 minutes

The ambulance which was transporting the vital organs started at NRI Hospital at 5.10 pm. The distance from Mangalagiri to Vijayawada is 13 kilometres and that from Vijayawada to Gannavaram is nearly 18 kilometres, which means the vehicle has to travel about 30 kilometers to reach the airport.

By 5.20 pm buses came to a halt on the roads and at 5.24 pm the ambulance reached Benz Circle. By 5.27 pm it reached Enikepadu and by 5.33 pm it reached NTR Veterinary College. By 5.34 pm, the ambulance reached the airport, setting a record of 24 minutes.