Setting an example-still rare in the State-a woman from Vishnu Garden has handed over the body of her husband who died on Tuesday to a hospital for research and other purposes on Wednesday. She said that she has just fulfilled the pledge made by her husband. “This is for a greater cause,” she added.
Things have been done in just six hours. On being informed of the pledge, a team of doctors from the Eye Bank of Uttarakhand and the Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences (HIMS) reached the house on time. The eye removal process started just after and a few hours following the eyes’ removal, the whole body was taken to the hospital for medical education and research.
Neeraj Malik, a businessman from Vishnu Garden, had pledged to donate his body on death to facilitate anatomy study by the medical students of HIMS in June this year. He had injured his shoulder a few days ago and died on October 2. His registration number with the Department of Anatomy Jollygrant Hospital was 347.
While the wife of the deceased showed courage to have her husband’s pledge fulfilled, his mother was not too eager to send the body to the hospital instead of the cremation ground.
However, the children of the deceased said that they would carry forward the flame lighted by their father. They would also work for the greater cause of the society, said Jolly and Muskan, the son and the daughter of Neeraj.
A large number of people gathered at the house to hail the body donation initiative, something which is still very rare in Uttarakhand. Among them was the principal of SMJN College Dr S K Batra.
Speaking to The Pioneer, Neha Malik, wife of the deceased, said that human body is a gift of God. “It cannot be manufactured in the laboratories. However, if rightly used after death, the body can serve the society at large. It can help many to live long and healthy life as several organs of the body can be transplanted from one human body to another. Besides, as there is an acute shortage of cadavers for the medical students to work on the body donation gesture would go a long way. It would finally serve the cause of humanity. The people are indifferent because they are ignorant. I on my part would continue to motivate them to this noble gesture,” she said.
Dr Anuradha, Ophthalmologist, Jollygrant Hospital, said that any person of any blood group can donate eyes on death to the blind. “The corneal blind people can be benefitted by this. The cornea from a dead must be removed six to eight hours after death. It takes just 15 to 20 minutes to remove the cornea and contrary to the popular belief, there was no distortion in the face because of the removal,” he added.