Brain dead accident victim’s organs harvested, flown to Bengaluru

TNN

Mangaluru 14 April 2015: In a first for the coastal city, Mangaluru city traffic police on Monday created a "green corridor" to facilitate unhindered transport of a brain dead donor’s heart valves, kidney and liver from a hospital here to the Mangaluru International airport. 

 

The Green Corridor was in operation from 10.16pm to about 12 minutes till the organs reached the airport from where it was transported by a special flight. The flight had earlier arrived from HAL Airport, Bengaluru, at MIA at 7.30pm. 

 

The harvested organs belonged to Jeevan Vijay Fernandes, 24, from Bellur of Bantwal taluk. He met with an accident on Friday night and was declared brain dead on Monday. 

 

The victim, in a bid to avoid knocking down a reckless pedestrian who was crossing the national highway, stepped hard on the brakes of his two-wheeler and sustained severe head injuries. 

 

Though surgeons from AJ Hospital and BGS Global Hospital, Bengaluru, successfully harvested the kidney, heart valves, liver and cornea, AJ Hospital retained the cornea and sent the rest with doctors from BGS Hospital. Sources said while the heart valves will be used by Narayana Hrudayalaya, the liver will be used by BGS Hospital for the needy patients. Two surgeons from AJ and another team from BGS successfully harvested the organs. 

 

After the kin became aware that Jeevan was brain dead and there would be no way of bringing him back, they decided to donate his organs. By this gesture we will see Jeevan light up others lives even through his death,’’ said "the victim’s cousin Vincent Fernandes. Jeevan, son of Jerome and Gracy, was to get married next month. 

 

Mangaluru City Traffic Police ACP Uday Nayak said the transport took just 12 minutes, a distance of 11 km, with 30 personnel overseeing that the road remained clear of all vehicles. Nayak said he was glad that traffic police could assist such a cause.