1-yr-old is youngest eye donor

After Nikunj Raychura died last month, grieving family decided to help someone by donating his eyes
SANTOSH ANDHALE
One-year-old Nikunj Raychura became the country’s youngest eye donor, when his corneas were handed over to an eye bank, after he passed away at a city hospital last month. In what is a sad but heartening trend, donors seem to be have gotten younger in the recent past. It was only last week that a Delhi-based couple donated the eyes, kidney and skin tissues of their 16-month-old daughter. NIKUNJ SUCCUMBED TO FITS, FEVER Just two days after he celebrated his first birthday on March 28, Nikunj started suffering from fits and ran a temperature. His parents, Nayan and Geeta, rushed him to a local doctor in Nalasopara, who advised hospitalisation. Nikunj was shifted to Wadia Hospital on March 30 but when he wasn’t respond well to treatment, doctors shifted him to the intensive care unit ( ICU). Though he was put on a ventilator in the morning, by afternoon his heart stopped working and he was declared dead. It was Nikunj’s elder uncle, Chetan Raichura, a senior member of the family, who suggested the family should donate Nikunj’s eyes. Nikunj’s parents held a discussion with the doctors after which the operation was conducted. Nayan, who works as a salesmen in the saree shop at Dadar, has another son Yash, who is seven years old. Speaking about the decision to donate Nikunj’s eyes, his uncle Chetan Raichura said, “I am a member of Lohana Mahahjan community, who do a lot of social work. I had heard about people donating eyes and though Nikunj’s death was a terribly sad incident, we feel he will now live on in someone else. We have kept his soul alive.” NIKUNJ’S EYES TO HELP NEEDY Nikunj’s cornea’s were handed over to Tarun Mitra Mandal at Chinchchpokli, who runs an eye bank that works for the needy. “We run an eye bank coordination and research centre at Bacchu Ali Hospital in Byculla. In the last 13 years, we have received about 8,000 corneas from donors. Nikunj’s eyes will help someone else and we respect the family’s decision. We request more people to participate in such programmes,” said Dheeraj Rambhia, president of Tarun Mitra Mandal. According to the Human Organ Transplantation Act, the recipient’s identity is not disclosed to the donor’s family. YOUNGEST DONOR SO FAR WAS A 18-MONTH-OLD CHILD: EXPERTS Padmashri award winner Dr T P Lahane, head of the ophthalmology dept, JJ Hospital, who has conducted more than 3,000 cornea transplants, said, “The child’s corneas can be used in children as well as adults as age is not an issue.The couple have been brave and made a rare decision.” said Dr Lahane. He added,“The youngest donor that I have seen so far has been an 18-month-old child. Nikunj is probably the youngest donor ever.”