17-year-old Rudresh from Thiruvananthapuram donates organs, offering six people a new lease of life

A seventeen-year-old, who suffered brain stem death following a road traffic accident in the city, departed on Tuesday, after giving six others a new lease of life.

The parents of Rudresh S.R., a Plus Two student at A.M.H.S.S. School, Thirumala, came forward to donate their son’s organs even in their time of immense grief, immortalising their son’s memory.

Following the consent given by the family, Rudresh’s both kidneys, pancreas, liver, both corneas, and the abdominal fascia and vessels were harvested by medical teams for implanting in others awaiting precious organs for a new chance at life.

Though the family had also expressed willingness to donate his heart, transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) conducted ahead of the surgery found the heart unsuitable for transplantation. The heart therefore could not be retrieved.

One kidney was transplanted in an end-stage renal failure patient at Government Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, while the other kidney and pancreas were received by a patient suffering from multi-organ failure at KIMSHEALTH, Thiruvananthapuram.

The liver and the abdominal fascia and vessels were also allocated to patients at KIMSHEALTH. The corneas were retrieved by the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, Thiruvananthapuram.

Rudresh was riding a motorbike with his friend along the Karamana–Killippalam road on October 26 night when the driver lost control of the two-wheeler, leaving Rudresh and his friend with critical injuries.

Though they were immediately admitted to a nearby hospital, doctors confirmed brain death at around 4 p.m. on Monday.

Following the consent given by Rudresh’s parents, B. Suresh and P. Remya Devi, Kerala State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (K-SOTTO) stepped in to coordinate all processes for organ donation.