World Organ Donation Day 2020
A short story of Organ Donation in Tamil Nadu state…
“Hithendran Effect”
80 kilometers south of Chennai in the town of Thirukazhukundram (Thiru-karhu-kundram) is a story at the heart of organ donation. Set in the backdrop of coconut trees and temples, this story is of a 15-year-old Hithendra, who died almost a decade ago. On September 20 in 2008, Hithendra, the elder of two sons passed away in a motorcycle accident.
“He was a bright science student who wanted to be a doctor and travel,” said Hithendran’s father Dr Ashokan, who took the brave call to donate his son’s organs. “I wanted him to live on and enjoy life through someone else”, he further added.
“The decision to donate was not tough at all, the grief of losing a son was,” said Hithendra’s mother Dr Pushpanjali. The couple donated Hithendran’s heart, kidneys, liver, corneas and bone marrow.
Buoyed by the momentum caused by what is called the ‘Hithendran Effect’, the state of Tamil Nadu galvanised massive support for organ donation. Soon, more and more people began to enquire about organ donation and brain death.
"Now, living at the street that has been re-named after Hithendran, which means ‘well-wisher’ in Sanskrit, the couple continues to keep the ‘Hithendran Effect’ alive by motivating people to step forward and donate their organs. They still practice at a small clinic where hundreds of patients wait every day to be seen by the couple.
“Be the Change in someone’s Life”
Credits : NDTV