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Time of India
09-08-2025
- Health
- Time of India
In death, diamond artisan gives six gift of life
Surat: The life of a 52-year-old diamond artisan ended in tragedy, but his legacy will live on in six people whose lives he saved through organ donation . On Friday, after he was declared brain dead, Nakrani's family consented to donate his heart, liver, kidneys and corneas. A resident of Sarthana, Pravin Nakrani met with an accident on Aug 4 when an unidentified vehicle hit him near VT Nagar around 9pm. He suffered severe head injuries and was rushed by a 108 ambulance to Surat Municipal Institute of Medical Education and Research (SMIMER) Hospital, where a CT scan revealed brain haemorrhage. Despite intensive treatment, on Aug 7, the medical team — including medical superintendent Dr Jitendra Darshan, surgery department head Dr Archana Nema, neurosurgeon Dr Dipesh Kakkad, and RMO Dr Anand Patel — declared him brain dead. Organ donation NGO Donate Life was informed, and its team met the Nakrani family to explain the impact of the decision. Inspired by the possibility of saving lives, Nakrani's nephew Dharmeshbhai said, "We are a simple family with little to give. But today, through my uncle's organs, we can help others live." With necessary approvals, the organs were harvested and transported to recipients. The heart went to a 57-year-old man at UN Mehta Hospital, Ahmedabad, the liver to a 38-year-old Mumbai resident at Kiran Hospital in Surat, both kidneys to patients in Ahmedabad and the corneas to two others. City police created a green corridor from SMIMER Hospital to Surat Airport to ensure the heart reached Ahmedabad on time. This was the 135th such operation by the city police to transport organs, including hearts, lungs, hands, intestines, livers, and kidneys, to hospitals across India. Since its inception, Donate Life has facilitated over 1,230 life-saving transplants in India and abroad, a reflection of Surat's growing humanitarian spirit. The Nakrani family's decision is yet another testament to the city's commitment to saving lives through organ donation. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Raksha Bandhan wishes , messages and quotes !
India.com
09-08-2025
- Health
- India.com
Real Life Raksha Bandhan: Her Hand Once Held His Sister's, Now A Mumbai Teen Ties Rakhi To A Brother She Never Knew
Ahmedabad: Dressed in a soft pink salwar suit edged with delicate lace, 16-year-old Anamta Ahmed leaned forward and gently tied a rakhi around the wrist of Shivam Mistry. He looked at her with affection and smile on his face. The room filled with applause. A few eyes glistened with tears, while the familiar melody of a beloved Raksha Bandhan song played in the background. The scene carried a meaning far beyond than a simple festival ritual. The very hand tying the rakhi had once belonged to Shivam's younger sister, Riya, a nine-year-old girl who passed away in September 2024. The emotional meeting was made possible by a Surat-based NGO. The Mistry family lives in Valsad, while Anamta is from Goregaon in Mumbai. After Riya's passing, one of her hands was transplanted onto Anamta, creating a bond that neither family could have imagined before. For Shivam's father, Bobby Mistry, the first time he touched Anamta's transplanted hand was overwhelming. His voice still shakes as he recalls the moment. 'It felt like Riya was still here with us. She was the only girl in our family. In that moment, it was as if our daughter had come back to life,' he told The Indian Express. Two years earlier, life had taken a harsh turn for Anamta. Then a Grade 10 student, she was visiting her relatives in Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh) when she accidentally came into contact with a high-tension electric wire while playing on a terrace. The shock left her unconscious, and doctors were forced to amputate her entire right arm. Severely damaged, her left arm retained only 20 percent of its function. Riya's story began to change in September last year. One afternoon in Valsad, she suddenly began vomiting and complained of an intense headache. Several hospitals could not identify the problem. Her parents rushed her to Surat's Kiran Hospital on September 15. A CT scan revealed that she had suffered a fatal brain haemorrhage, leaving her brain-dead. The diagnosis stunned her family and the hospital staff. At that moment, the NGO Donate Life stepped in. They spoke with Riya's parents, who decided to donate her organs. A registration was made with the State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (SOTTO). On September 17, Riya's right hand, which was amputated from the shoulder, was transported to Mumbai, where surgeons transplanted it onto Anamta. Nilesh Mandlewala, president of the NGO, said this made her the youngest person in the world to undergo a shoulder-level hand transplant. Riya's kidneys and liver were also donated, saving the lives of other recipients. The two families finally came face-to-face a day before Raksha Bandhan this year. Nilesh described the gathering as 'an auspicious occasion', with relatives and friends from both families present. Bobby had no idea a rakhi ceremony had been planned. The NGO had arranged it as a surprise. 'I was at work when my wife, Trishna, called and asked me to come home early. My son and I arrived together. The house was full of people. I saw Aquil Ahmed, his wife and their daughter. And then I saw Anamta. I was stunned. They told me they had come to tie a rakhi to Shivam. It was a moment we will never forget,' he said. For Aquil, the day brought back memories of the accident in 2022. 'After the electric shock, she became unconscious. We brought her back to Mumbai. Dr. Nilesh Satbhai at Global Hospital told us that her right arm had to be amputated, and her left arm was only partially functional. She was in Class 10, and her board exams were coming up. The amputation was done from the shoulder. A few months later, her left arm was operated on,' he recalled. Recovery was slow but steady. He remembered how his daughter turned to YouTube videos for physiotherapy exercises, gradually improving the strength in her left hand. She practised writing every day despite the pain, returned to school and scored an impressive 92 percent in her Grade 10 board exams in 2023. Her name was later registered with Maharashtra SOTTO. On September 16, 2024, Dr. Satbhai called the family with news of Riya's donation. The transplant surgery went ahead, and today, Anamta can use both hands with confidence. 'We thank Bobby and Trishna from the bottom of our hearts,' said Aquil. Now in Grade 12 at Mithibai College, Anamta uses her free time to create videos encouraging people to overcome adversity. She has appeared on podcasts, spoken at events and even delivered a TEDx talk to inspire others with her extraordinary story of connection, loss and renewal.
Time of India
09-08-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Rakhi with donor's hand: Mumbai teen meets her ‘new brother' in Gujarat
MEERUT/SURAT: On Gujarat's scenic Tithal Beach Road in Valsad, two families brought together by loss celebrated a Raksha Bandhan unlike any other on Friday. Sixteen-year-old Anamta Ahmad from Mumbai tied a rakhi to 14-year-old Shivam Mistry, the brother of her organ donor, with the very hand she had received from his late sister, Riya. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The world's youngest recipient of a shoulder-level hand transplant, Anamta was given Riya's hand, the world's youngest donor limb of its kind, after Riya was declared brain-dead last Sept, a day after being diagnosed with a brain haemorrhage. Image Credit: TOI Three years earlier, Anamta had lost her right hand after touching a live 11KV high-tension cable while playing on the rooftop of her father's ancestral home in Aligarh. On Friday, as she tied a rakhi on Shivam with the same hand Riya once used to tie on him, she became a living link between two families bound by love, grief, and gratitude. Emotions ran high as the Mistry family embraced Anamta, tears streaming down their faces. 'When I met Anamta and held her hands, it felt as if my Riya came back to life,' said Riya's mother, Trishna, her voice heavy with emotion. 'The pain I carried suddenly turned into deep affection for this girl who travelled all the way to tie a rakhi on my son's wrist. Anamta is now my daughter too and Riya will always live on in her. We are still overcoming our loss, but it felt good seeing how Anamta is happy and living a good life. ' 'Her hands were the same, even the texture. I suddenly thought I saw Riya while Anamta was tying the rakhi,' Shivam said. 'She came from Mumbai to meet me. I will go to her next year. This tradition will continue for the rest of my life.' Som Singh Bhai, Riya's grandfather, said nothing, but held Anamta's transplanted hand for a long time. Cousins and friends of Riya also queued up for rakhis from Anamta when she visited with her parents, Aqeel and Daraasha. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now For Anamta too, the meeting was equally moving. 'The feeling is difficult to explain. I never met Riya, who made my life complete, but I feel so connected to her. All the trauma of the last three years vanished in an instant when her mother held me as I tied a rakhi on her brother's wrist. I felt I was just a medium and it was Riya uniting with her brother.' Apart from her right hand, Riya's kidneys, liver, lungs, corneas, and left hand were also donated, transforming eight lives. 'This is the first time I've witnessed such a powerful moment where tradition and humanity came together beyond all boundaries,' said Nilesh Mandlewala, founder of the NGO Donate Life, which facilitated the organ donation. 'Generally, a donor's identity is not revealed, but here was humanity at its best.' TOI first reported on Anamta in 2022, when, then 13, her right hand suffered severe burns from the accident and had to be amputated thrice after it developed gangrene. Her left arm was left with major wounds and limited function. Two years later, a 12-hour transplant surgery in Mumbai, le
News.com.au
28-07-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
AFL and Carlton player Zac Williams signs up to become a registered organ donor after finding out his wife already was
Zac Williams has kicked plenty of goals in his career as an AFL star. But a recent shift off the field has lead him to quite a different goal in his personal life. After a converstaion with wife Rachel Lucas, the Carlton Football player has signed up as a registered organ donor with DonateLife. 'I'm probably one of those people that have been oblivious for so long about organ donation,' Williams told Lucas, a former Ballerina, was already a registered organ donor and helped encourage the former GWS Giant to do the same, along with other family and close friends. 'It was actually a very passionate conversation that we had about it,' Williams said. 'Hearing stories from people that have received organ donations and how it saved their lives, was really inspirational. 'I was pretty easily convinced that if you become an organ donor how much you can help others.' The pair, who married in 2024 share two children, son Beckham and daughter Ayla. Williams' decision to register as a donor comes as the median time people currently on the kidney transplant wait list has risen to 2.6 years. The waiting period is dependant on individual's blood type and location, but is significantly higher than the average wait time for a liver transplant which is eight to 12 months. More than 200 Australians have died in the past five years waiting for a transplant, but there are concerns the figure may actually be higher as patients are removed from waitlists as they're conditions worsen. Williams is speaking ahead of DonateLife Week which aims to raise national awareness about organ and tissue donation between July 27 and August 3. Williams even let his good friend and rival AFL player from Port Adelaide Jeremy Finlayson know he'd made the move. Finlayson's wife Kellie was diagnosed with Stage four bowel cancel at 25 years old in 2021, after giving birth to their daughter Sophia just three months prior. Not long later in 2022 after experiencing shortness of breath, it was confirmed the disease had spread to her colon. Kellie has been receiving blood from donors helping save her life following surgeries and ongoing treatment. Williams meanwhile is facing a tough uphill battle with a struggling Carlton side that have slumped to 12th in this season's standings. The 2013 AFL rising star has seen a positional shift at times and has been a consistent member of the squad.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Activists fly conservative flag at Boise City Hall. Mayor McLean responds
Far-right activists covered two flags at Boise City Hall that have become the source of controversy, and added a flag linked with conservative movements. The mayor showed up on Sunday morning to remove the protesters' flag herself. A two-minute video posted at 8:14 a.m. to social media by activist Casey Whalen shows locals known for their far-right views, including David Pettinger, placing a ladder against the City Hall flagpoles while the sky is still dark. Pettinger wears dark clothing as the 'Mission: Impossible' movie theme song plays. A figure in the video adds an 'Appeal to Heaven' flag to one of the poles before covering two existing flags with what appeared to be black plastic bags. The Appeal to Heaven flag dates back to the American Revolution. The once obscure flag has in recent years become associated with President Donald Trump's 'Stop the Steal' movement in 2020-21 and those who want to insert more religion into government, according to the New York Times. The two covered flags were the Pride flag, and a Donate Life flag that supports a nonprofit that raises awareness about the importance of organ donation. Those flags have become a recent target for Republican ire after House Bill 96 — which allows government entities to display only certain official flags, such as the American flag, state flag, city flag and military flags — became law on April 4. Boise Mayor Lauren McLean has stood firm in her decision to keep the Pride and Donate Life flags flying, despite threats from Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador that she might be putting city funding at risk. McLean appeared in front of City Hall at about 11 a.m. and quickly removed the 'Appeal to Heaven' flag and uncovered the two others, according to video footage. The Mayor's Office did not immediately respond to the Idaho Statesman's request for comment Sunday. Because the legislation did not include a provision for enforcement or penalties, law enforcement has said there is little they can do to enforce this law. 'Without clear direction in the law, no law enforcement in the state of Idaho has the authority to issue citations or make arrests in this situation,' Ada County Sheriff Matt Clifford said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. 'This situation highlights the importance of thoughtful collaboration in the legislative process. I strongly urge Idaho legislators to work closely with subject matter experts when drafting legislation to ensure that future statutes are clearly enforceable and contain the necessary legal structure to support their implementation.' Boise police appeared to toe a similar line on Sunday. Boise resident Pam Hemphill once joined Pettinger and other conservative activists in protest incidents like Sunday's. She's since come to reject them and many of her previously held beliefs following her arrest for participating in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. Hemphill said she hurried to City Hall on Sunday and called police to report the flag incident. 'It's not the Pride flag, it's freedom,' Hempgill told the Statesman. 'Freedom to love who you want, be who you are. That's America. It just hurts that these people are being picked on so much.' The Whalen video used audio of Hemphill joking about the possibility of activists getting arrested for removing the Pride flag. In a video shared with the Idaho Statesman, a Boise police officer tells Hemphill that he won't take action against those who participated. 'What we've been instructed to do is we're not taking any enforcement action on flying the flag or taking it down,' the officer said. The Boise Police Department did not immediately respond to the Idaho Statesman's request for comment Sunday.
