In death, 9-year-old accident victim saves two lives

MUMBAI: For the third time this year, a young child became an organ donor when her parents donated her kidneys to two patients suffering from end-stage renal disease. The donations took place after nine-year-old Nikita Patil was declared brain dead at MGM Hospital, Vashi, on June 11. In February, parents of two children-aged nine and six respectively-donated their organs. With Nikita's donation, Greater Mumbai has so far witnessed 17 cadaver donations this year, resulting in 32 kidneys and 17 livers for patients. Laxman Rajaram Patil, his wife Vandana and their daughter Nikita were returning from their native place Sangli on June 9 when the jeep in which they were travelling hit the road divider and turned turtle near Khalapur Naka. They were admitted to Ashtavinayak Hospital in Khanda Colony, but Nikita, who was critical, was shifted to MGM Hospital in Vashi later that day. Despite the efforts of the doctors, Nikita was declared brain dead two days later.A resident of Ambedkar Nagar in Thane, Nikita is survived by two siblings-an elder sister and a younger brother-and her parents. "She was a class VII student and was to restart school soon. She was exceptionally good at studies," said a relative.While one of her kidneys was transplanted to a patient at MGM Hospital as per the waiting list of registered candidates for cadaver transplant, the other was transplanted to a patient registered at Jaslok Hospital on Pedder Road. Mumbai has been a distant second to Chennai in organ donations. In 2012, after the death of former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh for want of donated organs, the state government introduced a set of rules and guidelines. Yet, the city registered an abysmal 21 cadaver donations in 2013. Doctors are however hopeful that, with 17 donations already made, 2014 will be different.