Brain-dead 18-year-old’s organs to revitalise eight lives in Kerala

In less than 24 hours, Kerala witnessed yet another gesture of altruism, when the family of Biljith Biju, an 18-year-old youngster who was declared brain-dead following a road accident in Kochi, came forward to donate all salvageable organs to others.

Eight organs harvested from the youngster, whose brainstem death was confirmed by doctors on Friday, is thus giving a new lease of life to eight persons and huge hopes to their families.

For K-SOTTO (Kerala State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization), which has been struggling hard to bring up the momentum of Mrithasanjeevani, the State’s deceased donor organ donation and bring back public focus to the noble and life-giving act of organ donation, the past two days have been quite heartening.

Biljith Biju, a first year student of Adisankara Institute of Engineering and Technology and a native of Nedumbassery, Ernakulam, was seriously injured, when the motorbike he was riding was hit by a lorry on the Nedumbassery-Kariyad national highway on September 2.

He was admitted to the Little Flower Hospital at Angamaly but brainstem death was confirmed on Friday, following which the possibility of organ donation evolved.

Though grieving for their son, Biljith’s family was willing for organ donation, following which K-SOTTO coordinated with hospitals and found suitable organ recipients from the waiting list on Mrithasanjeevani.

Biljith’s heart was transplanted in a 13-year-old girl who has been awaiting a donor heart at Lisie Hospital, Kochi. The kidneys were donated to end-stage renal disease patients at Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital and Rajagiri hospital, Ernakulam. The liver, small intestines and pancreas were received by Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Ernakulam for their end-stage organ failure patients. Both corneas were retrieved by the Little Flower hospital.

The Health Minister Veena George paid tributes to the youngster whose life was snuffed out early and thanked Biiljith’s family for their generous gesture.

Biljith is survived by his parents, Biju Palamattom and Linda and his brother, Bivel. The funeral rites will be held at their home on Saturday.