This 14-Month-Old Surat Boy May Have Passed on, but He Saved Two Lives

A 14-month-old boy has become the youngest cadaver donor in western India.

The young Somnath Shah suffered serious head injuries after slipping from a ladder while playing at home on September 2. After being rushed to a private hospital in Surat where he resides, he was referred to the New Civil Hospital (NCH).

The young boy was declared brain dead on September 4, after his CT scans revealed brain haemorrhage and a fractured skull. The declaration led hospital authorities to contact the city-based NGO, Donate Life, which promotes the cause of organ donation.They were able to convince the boy’s parents to donate his son’s organs.

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The accident may have snatched the kid away from his parents, but his heart continues to beat in a three-year-old girl.

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While, his heart was flown to Mumbai and transplanted into three-year-old girl Aaradhya Yogesh Mule, a resident of Navi Mumbai; his kidneys will be transplanted in a 15-year-old boy from Deesa in Banaskantha district, battling renal failure for over ten years.

Finding a heart that would fit Aaradhya, considering her age, had become increasingly difficult and Somnath’s heart has come as a blessing. The three-year-old had been suffering from a rare heart disease called dilated cardiomyopathy for over a year and a half.

Chief cardiac surgeon, Dr Anvay Mule from Fortis Hospital, Mumbai, who completed the heart transplant successfully said, “A social media campaign, ‘Save Aaradhya’, had been running for the last six months in Mumbai to get the right-sized heart for her. The transplant was successful, and Aaradhya can now live a healthy life.”

Speaking to the Times of India, Somnath’s father, Sunil Shah, said, “My wife and I prayed a lot for a son after getting our first daughter four years ago. God was gracious to bless us with a son last year. But we never thought he would leave us so early. So what if we have lost him? He still lives in Aaradhya. After his last rites, we will go to Mumbai to meet the girl.”

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