Thiruvananthapuram | A 23-year-old woman declared brain-dead following a road accident has made it possible for six others to live, after her family chose to donate her organs in an act of profound generosity amid their grief.
Health Minister K Muraleedharan lauded the family of Naomi Vincent, a native of Vadakkanchery in Thrissur district, for taking the "noble decision" to donate her organs despite their personal loss, a statement said on Monday.
With the consent of her family, Naomi's two kidneys, liver, two corneas and heart valve were donated, it said.
One kidney was transplanted at Government Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, while the other kidney and the liver were allocated to patients undergoing treatment at KIMSHEALTH Hospital in the state capital, the statement said.
The heart valve was handed over to the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, while the two corneas were transferred to the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology.
The Kerala State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation coordinated the entire organ donation process, it said.
Transplant surgeries are currently under way at the respective hospitals, the statement said.
Naomi, who had recently completed her post-graduation in Psychology from St Thomas College, Thrissur, was travelling to Thiruvananthapuram to join a new job at a private institution in Kowdiar when the accident occurred.
The car in which she was travelling collided with a lorry near Valakom in Kottarakkara around 4 am on June 25, leaving Naomi, her mother Gypsy Thankachan and younger brother Joel Vincent seriously injured.
Joel was driving the vehicle.
All three were initially admitted to a private hospital in Kottarakkara. Naomi was later shifted to a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram for advanced treatment, where she was declared brain-dead at 9.28 am on June 28.
Her father Vincent, sister Angel Maria Vincent and other family members subsequently consented to donate her organs.
Her mother and brother, who were also injured in the accident, are undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Thrissur, the statement added.
