SURAT: As kids, these bosom friends were inseparable and went on to study together up to Class XII. Such was their bonding that even death could not separate them.
But Meet Pandya (18) and Krish Gandhi (19) have immortalized themselves by giving life to at least 13 people with their organs.
On August 24, Meet and Krish were riding a bike when a speeding vehicle hit them from behind near GD Goenka School. They were rushed to hospital but both had suffered brain haemorrhage and doctors declared them brain dead on August 28.
“As soon as we were informed about the two brain-dead boys, we reached the hospital and met their grieving family members. Even in this time of immense tragedy, parents of both boys agreed to donate their vital organs for the sake of needy patients,” said Nilesh Mandlewala, founder president, Donate Life, a voluntary organization working for organ donation.
Four kidneys, two livers, one heart, two lungs and four corneas were donated.
The kidneys of both boys were allocated to Ahmedabad-based Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre (IKDRC) while the corneas were donated to Surat-based Lok Dristi Eye Bank. Meet's kidneys were transplanted into two siblings - one 13 years old and another 14 year old - at IKDRC while Krish's one kidney was transplanted into a 54-year-old man from Amreli and another into a 45-year-old man from Mehsana.
‘Organs to keep memories alive’
Meet's liver was transplanted into a 47-year-old teacher from Bayad town of Sabarkantha district. The heart was transplanted into a 21-year-old girl from Vadodara while the corneas were donated to Surat-based Lok Drishti Eye Bank.
Krish's lungs were transplanted into a 54-year-old Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan in Hyderabad. The jawan had been living on oxygen support for the last one-and-a-half year, awaiting lung transplant. Krish's liver was transplanted into a 55-year-old man from Rajkot in an Ahmedabad hospital.
Meet's father Kalpesh has a catering business in Rustampura area while Krish's father Sanjay runs a snacks cart in Begampura in Surat.
"Meet was bright in studies and wanted to make a career in information technology. Though it's a tragic loss, we have to come to terms with his untimely demise. However, we will seem to be living through his organs in those patients who will get new lives,'' Kalpesh Pandya said.
Sanjay Gandhi said, “We are a poor family and can’t donate anything to help the society. It was not his age to leave us behind but the bitter reality is that he is dead. His vital organs can give new life to someone, so we decided on organ donation.
Mandlewala said this was the first case in the state where as many as 13 organs and tissues were donated and transplanted at one go and lives of many organ failure patients' were saved.
Four green corridors were created to transport lungs, heart, livers and kidneys to four different destination hospitals in Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.
