Trichy: A woman who became brain-dead after giving birth to a baby girl has given a fresh lease of life to six people through her organs which were harvested at the Mahatma Gandhi memorial government hospital (MGMGH) in Trichy. In the process, 25-year-old Dhanalakshmi became the first to undergo organ donation at the tertiary care hospital.A Dhanalakshmi, 25, from Thennur was brought to the hospital with continuous seizures on the morning of March 7. She was pregnant for 32 to 34 weeks at the time of admission, according to doctors. The CT scan revealed that she had suffered intracerebral haemorrhage, brain stem haemorrhage and intraventricular haemorrhage. Doctors said that her blood vessels had ruptured due to high blood pressure emanating from eclampsia, a disorder occurring rarely in pregnant women.A team of doctors decided to put her through C-section to save the baby. Though a baby girl was born in the evening the same day, Dhanalakshmi remained unconscious. Further observation and treatment at the labour intensive care unit gave no hope of the revival of the patient. The high-level team of doctors including neurosurgeon Dr S Jothikumar concluded that there was no chance of her recovery despite five days of treatment.The woman was declared brain-dead by the doctors after I Apnoea test at 8 am on Friday and a subsequent test in the evening. Once reconciled to the reality, the grieving family members of the woman gave their consent to donate her organs. Soon, a team of doctors including dean Dr G Anitha, medical superintendent Dr Ekanath, surgeon Dr Karunakaran, head of the department of O&G Dr Poovathi and anaesthetist Dr Sivakumar carried out the harvest of organs.The heart was airlifted to a patient in Fortis Malar hospital in Chennai while the liver was used on a patient in Cethar hospital in Trichy. The two kidneys were allotted to a patient each at Government Rajaji hospital in Madurai and Government medical college hospital in Tirunelveli. The eyes were used on two patients at MGMGH. It was the first organ harvest done by MGMGH after obtaining temporary licence from the state government. However, the hospital is yet to be equipped with the facility to conduct organ transplantation.Health minister Dr C Vijayabaskar, who honoured the family of the woman, said that organ transplantation would also be inaugurated here soon. “Organ transplantation facilities in Salem and Trichy are in the pipeline,” he told reporters.

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