Ms. Nithya, 39 years old, was a young woman with dreams and aspirations in her life. However, on November 13, 2024, she suffered a sudden and devastating brain haemorrhage—a spontaneous subarachnoid haemorrhage (bleeding within the brain), leading to a cardiac arrest. She was immediately admitted to Manipal Hospital Old Airport Road where she was revived and offered intensive medical care.
Despite continuous neuromonitoring and maximum medical therapy, Nithya’s condition continued to worsen, ultimately progressing to brain death. She was declared brain dead on November 20, 2024. The news was shattering for her family, especially for her mother to accept the loss of her young daughter is unimaginable. However, Nithya’s mother gathered strength and made the decision to donate her organs, in a wish to see her daughter in every person that gets a second chance at life. Her mother’s motivation led the family to agree to organ donation.
Dr. Sunil Karanth, Chairman, HOD & Consultant – Critical Care Medicine noted, “In India, especially in a traditional society, it is not common for a mother to take such a decisive role in organ donation decisions, especially for a married daughter, defying social and cultural barriers. Her courage in choosing to give life to others through this benevolent act is truly inspiring.”
Nithya’s organs, including her heart, lungs, two kidneys, and the liver, were successfully retrieved and transplanted, bringing new hope to patients in urgent need.
For her mother, this act was a way to spread more awareness of organ donation and see her daughter continue to live in the lives of those who received her organs. As she bid farewell to Nithya for the last time, she said, “Let other people live in my daughter’s name, and I will see her alive in them.”
