Teen gets new hand after transplant at KEM
Mumbai: A Bhandup teenager, whose right hand was reportedly severed with a sword two years ago, received a new hand at the BMC-run KEM Hospital in Parel on Sunday. The 14-hour surgery was possible after the family of a 40-year-old male donated his organs, including his right hand, after he was declared brain dead at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Koparkhairane on April 26.
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On Monday, the recipient, 19-year-old
Sujal Tiwari
, spoke to his doctors and parents, and seemed happy to have a right hand once again.
"When we got a call on Saturday morning alerting us about a hand donation, our team immediately called Sujal, who turned out to be in KEM Hospital itself with his uncle, who had severe abdominal pain. What is ordained to be will be," said Dr Vinita Puri, head of the plastic surgery department, who operated on Sujal.
KEM Hospital dean Dr Sangeeta Ravat said the hospital has raised Rs 10 lakh—Rs 8 lakh from Tata Trust and Rs 2 lakh from the chief minister's fund—for Sujal, who will need a year of rehabilitation and lifelong immunosuppressants. In the private sector, a
hand transplant
could cost between Rs 15 and Rs 30 lakh.
Sujal's mother, Lata Tiwari, who works as a cook, said her employers were supportive and lent a couple of lakhs needed for blood tests and medication.
His father, Rajesh, who works as a mason, also raised some money. "When my son called me from KEM Hospital on Saturday morning, he was worried about saying yes to the transplant because he was worried about money," she said.
Sujal, who worked as a courier along with his high school studies, was attacked by friends to whom he had lent Rs 50,000, said his mother, Lata Tiwari. "They called him to a spot in Nahur, stating they would repay him, but instead attacked him with a sword and threw him on the tracks," she said.
Sujal, who took admission to a junior college, refused to leave home after the amputation. "He used to get very low on some days, but we got hope when we met doctors in KEM Hospital," she said.
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