The heart and lungs taken from a brain dead 19-year-old student with the permission of her family were transplanted to a critically ill anesthesiologist at the Colombo National Hospital, a specialist who participated in the surgery has told Lankadeepa.
Medical experts said that this is the first time in the medical history of Sri Lanka that these organs have been transplanted to a patient who was suffering from a heart disease and a lung disorder in one surgery.
A team of Indian medical specialists and a team of specialists from Sri Lanka have transplanted the heart and lungs to the anesthesiologist. Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella and senior officials of the Health Ministry have given their support to make this operation successful.
In addition, the kidneys and liver taken from the student were transplanted to two patients suffering from kidney disease and a liver patient.
The bone marrow of the donor has also been taken to be transplanted to patients.
According to a pledge made by the student when she was still alive, her eyes were also donated to the Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society.
The organ donor was a student from Ambanpola in Nikaweratiya by the name A. H. T. Vihagana Nuwanmini Ariyasinghe.
She has been pronounced brain dead while being treated in the intensive care unit of the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital due to a brain tumor.
She was a student of Maliyadeva Girls’ College in Kurunegala and appeared for the recently held A/L examination.
(Lankadeepa)
