Brain-dead Kolkata woman’s final wish fulfilled as hospital arranges daughter’s wedding before organ donation

In an unusual and deeply moving instance of compassion, a private hospital in Kolkata arranged a woman's daughter's wedding on its premises before proceeding with organ retrieval from the mother, who had been declared brain dead following a road accident.

54-year-old Chumki Roy, a resident of Haltu in Kolkata, had wished to see her daughter marry. After she sustained critical head injuries in a road accident last Monday, she was admitted to Ruby General Hospital.

Despite medical intervention, her condition did not improve, and she was declared brain dead on Wednesday night.

After the declaration, her husband, Debabrata Roy, and other family members decided to donate her organs.

However, before the organ retrieval procedure could begin, the family informed the hospital authorities about Chumki's wish to see her daughter married.

Taking the family's request into consideration, the hospital arranged the wedding on its premises while Chumki remained on ventilator support.

The ceremony was held before she was taken to the operation theatre for organ retrieval.

According to sources at the Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO), Chumki's liver, both kidneys and corneas were donated following the family's consent.

Her liver was allocated to a patient suffering from cirrhosis at Apollo Hospital, while her kidneys were transplanted into two patients with chronic renal failure undergoing treatment at Ruby Hospital and Command Hospital.

The eye bank at Sankara Nethralaya collected the two corneas, potentially helping restore vision to two people.

Although Chumki's heart and lungs were also offered for donation, suitable recipients could not be identified for the organs. Sources said the patients who received her organs were stable following the transplants.

As Chumki was taken to the operation theatre for organ retrieval, doctors and healthcare workers at Ruby General Hospital gave her a guard of honour.

Her family's decision ensured that her final wish was fulfilled while her organs offered a new lease of life to three critically ill patients and the possibility of restored vision to two others.