123 Kolkata: In death, a teenager promised life to five. In the first deceased organ donation in 2025, Dipak Kumar Yadav gave hope to the five who were battling organ failure. The heart, lungs, liver, and two kidneys of the 15-year-old deceased boy were transplanted into the five patients on Saturday at three different hospitals in Kolkata.
The class IX student, a resident of Kadapara in Kankurgachhi, whose father works as a driver, met with an accident on Dec 30. The family ran from one hospital to another for treatment as he sustained multiple injuries after a fall from a height, where the head injury was the most grievous.
Even as Apollo Multispecialty Hospital is close by, the family, whose sole earning member is the boy's father, Surendra Yadav, rushed him to NRS, as the family could not afford treatment at a private hospital.
"At the govt hospital, we were asked to take my nephew to another hospital as there was no vacant bed," said the boy's uncle, Krishna Yadav. The family then took Dipak to a nursing home, where they were also allegedly turned away on the grounds of bed unavailability. The family then took him to Apollo. By then, much of the golden period had passed.
"At Apollo, doctors started the treatment immediately but alerted us that there was only a 1% chance of reviving him. They promised to give it their best and asked us to pray," said the uncle. Doctors even conducted a procedure for the head injury on New Year's Eve. But despite all the efforts, the family was informed that the boy could not be revived. Doctors told the family members that if they consented, an apnoea test for confirming brain death would be conducted.
Two mandatory such successive tests confirmed that the boy was brain dead. When the hospital approached for organ donation, the family, which lives in a shanty, agreed to it. ROTTO (east) was informed, and the organ allocation was finalised late on Friday night.
"My brother-in-law is the only earning member who earns barely enough to feed the family. Dipak was the youngest of three siblings. Despite this immense loss and daily struggle for a living, we thought if Dipak's organs could save lives, let him live in others even if we could not save him," said Krishna Yadav.
Dipak's vital organs were retrieved early on Saturday and transplanted into five recipients — three women and two men. In 2024, the city saw 14 deceased organ donations. Since the first donation this year began early, those in the organ donation movement are hopeful of increasing the tally this year.
Kolkata: In death, a teenager promised life to five. In the first deceased organ donation in 2025, Dipak Kumar Yadav gave hope to the five who were battling organ failure. The heart, lungs, liver, and two kidneys of the 15-year-old deceased boy were transplanted into the five patients on Saturday at three different hospitals in Kolkata.
The class IX student, a resident of Kadapara in Kankurgachhi, whose father works as a driver, met with an accident on Dec 30. The family ran from one hospital to another for treatment as he sustained multiple injuries after a fall from a height, where the head injury was the most grievous.
Even as Apollo Multispecialty Hospital is close by, the family, whose sole earning member is the boy's father, Surendra Yadav, rushed him to NRS, as the family could not afford treatment at a private hospital.
"At the govt hospital, we were asked to take my nephew to another hospital as there was no vacant bed," said the boy's uncle, Krishna Yadav. The family then took Dipak to a nursing home, where they were also allegedly turned away on the grounds of bed unavailability. The family then took him to Apollo. By then, much of the golden period had passed.
"At Apollo, doctors started the treatment immediately but alerted us that there was only a 1% chance of reviving him. They promised to give it their best and asked us to pray," said the uncle. Doctors even conducted a procedure for the head injury on New Year's Eve. But despite all the efforts, the family was informed that the boy could not be revived. Doctors told the family members that if they consented, an apnoea test for confirming brain death would be conducted.
Two mandatory such successive tests confirmed that the boy was brain dead. When the hospital approached for organ donation, the family, which lives in a shanty, agreed to it. ROTTO (east) was informed, and the organ allocation was finalised late on Friday night.
"My brother-in-law is the only earning member who earns barely enough to feed the family. Dipak was the youngest of three siblings. Despite this immense loss and daily struggle for a living, we thought if Dipak's organs could save lives, let him live in others even if we could not save him," said Krishna Yadav.
Dipak's vital organs were retrieved early on Saturday and transplanted into five recipients — three women and two men. In 2024, the city saw 14 deceased organ donations. Since the first donation this year began early, those in the organ donation movement are hopeful of increasing the tally this year.