A three-year-old boy declared brain-dead on June 12 has become the youngest paediatric organ donor in the Pune zone, offering new hope to two paediatric patients and restoring sight for two others. The child suffered severe injuries from an accidental fall from the second floor of his home in the Tadiwala Road area and was admitted to a private hospital on June 2 in critical condition.
After counselling, the boy's family consented to donate his organs. His kidneys and liver were allocated to two paediatric patients at private hospitals in the city, while both corneas were donated to restore vision to two patients with corneal blindness, said Aarti Gokhale, coordinator at the Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee (ZTCC), Pune.
Gokhale noted that the family's decision also made the child the youngest paediatric organ donor in the Pune zone. "This is a historic moment for Pune. Organ donation at such a young age is extremely rare," she said. All transplant surgeries were successful, according to doctors.
Previous Young Donors
A four-day-old infant from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, remains the youngest organ donor in India, after his family donated both his kidneys in 2023. Under the Pune ZTCC zone, the family members of a nine-year-old boy from Vishrantwadi donated his liver, both kidneys, pancreas, and lungs in 2024. The boy was diagnosed with a brain tumour and declared brain-dead. In 2023, the family of an 11-year-old boy from Satara donated his heart and kidneys in Pune after he suffered fatal injuries in a road accident.
Pune ZTCC Zone Coverage
The Pune zone under ZTCC covers Pune, Satara, Karad, Sangli, Nashik, Solapur, Kolhapur, Ahmednagar, Jalgaon, and Dhule cities.
