BARNALA: He spent the last seven days of his life fighting death, but gave a new lease of life to three children on breathing his last.
Four-and-a-half year-old Gurjot Singh died at the PGIMER in Chandigarh on April 9, a week after he fell headlong from the roof of his family's house at Gehal village in Barnala district. Upon his death, Gurjot's liver was transplanted into a child undergoing treatment in Delhi and kidneys and pancreas were given to two children admitted to the PGIMER.
"God's ways are beyond comprehension. We never could have imagined that Gurjot, our bundle of joy, would die like this, at such a young age. We are trying to draw consolation from the fact that he will continue to live on in others," said Hardeep Singh, Gurjot's father who works at a tyre shop in Barnala and has a monthly income of Rs 15,000. The liver was given to a matching recipient undergoing treatment at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) in Delhi.
PGIMER director Prof Surjit Singh said families like that of Gurjot gave confidence to the medical fraternity too, as they gave the go-ahead to organ donation in spite of the hardships they were facing. "Every transplant provides a new beginning to our patients," he added. Hardeep said Gurjot was playing when he fell down on April 2. The family took him to Barnala civil hospital, and from there to PGIMER. He was declared brain dead on April 9.
PGIMER medical superintendent Prof Vipin Koushal, also the nodal officer for regional organ and tissue transplant organisation (North), said the liver was sent to ILBS as there was no matching recipient at PGIMER. He described the entire procedure as a "race against time". "A green corridor was created from PGIMER, Chandigarh, to ILBS, Delhi, with the collaboration of police from all districts from Chandigarh to Delhi, so that the donated organ could be transported in the shortest possible time," he said.
The PGIMER nephrology department, zeroed in on the recipients of the pancreas and kidney. "It was quite a tough call. But then we thought of saving someone else from the pain and agony of losing their child and went ahead with the decision. It is comforting to know that someone got a chance to live because of my dear son," said Hardeep. He said Gurjot had attended only a day in school so far.
