A Life Beyond Loss As Organ Donation Brings Hope To Six

In ordinary circumstances, Raveena (name changed) would have been remembered as yet another life lost too soon — a 45-year-old woman claimed by a sudden cerebral haemorrhage. Her passing would have merged into the silent statistics of hospital records, her story ending where it began — in grief.

But her family chose differently.

In a decision marked by rare courage and quiet resolve, they consented to donate her organs after she was declared brain-dead due to a cerebral haemorrhage (bleeding in the brain). In doing so, they transformed an intimate moment of loss into an enduring act of life. At the ABVIMS and Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital, doctors and staff paid tribute to her with solemn respect — not just as a patient, but as a donor whose legacy would continue in others.

In death, Raveena has ensured that a part of her life lives on — in six individuals who have received her organs and, with them, a renewed chance at life. This also created a milestone for the ABVIMS and Dr. RML Hospital, as it was its successful sixth multi-organ retrieval.

Her kidneys, liver, and heart were retrieved in a carefully coordinated effort and allocated to critically ill patients across institutions. One kidney was transplanted into a patient suffering from end-stage renal disease at RML itself. The liver was sent to the Army Hospital (Research and Referral), where it was transplanted into a patient battling advanced liver failure. Her heart travelled to the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI), Lucknow, where it now beats within a patient who had been waiting for a lifeline.

Doctors recall that the journey to this decision was neither immediate nor easy. After Raveena was declared brain-dead, teams from the Departments of Medicine and Critical Care gently explained the concept to her family — a diagnosis often difficult to comprehend, where the body appears alive even as the brain has irreversibly ceased to function.

“It requires immense emotional strength to understand and accept brain death, and even greater courage to consider organ donation at such a moment,” a senior doctor said.

Through careful counselling by the transplant coordinator, the family gradually came to terms with the reality. In choosing donation, they moved beyond grief to an act of extraordinary generosity.

Once consent was obtained, the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) stepped in to coordinate the allocation of organs, ensuring that each would reach the most suitable recipient.

In the early hours of the morning of April 13, 2026, around 3:30 a.m., multiple medical teams worked in unison. The cardiac team retrieved the heart, the liver transplant team handled the liver, and the urology team retrieved the kidneys. Outside, a parallel network came alive — an air ambulance was arranged to transport the heart to Lucknow, while a green corridor facilitated by Delhi Police ensured the liver reached Army Hospital without delay.

After the retrieval procedures were completed, Raveena’s body was returned to her family with full dignity. At RML, doctors and hospital staff paid their respects, acknowledging not just the life she had lived, but the lives she had saved.

The entire process was carried out under the supervision of the transplant coordinator and the nodal officer (transplant), along with the hospital’s Director, Dr. Ashok Kumar, and Medical Superintendent, Dr. Vivek Diwan.

Hospital authorities expressed deep gratitude to the family, describing their decision as one that stands as a powerful example in a country where organ donation rates remain low despite growing need.