SIUT team performs successful deceased organ transplant

KARACHI: The Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) has successfully executed a deceased organ donation process and transplanted two kidneys from a brain-dead donor to critically needy patients, ARY News reported.

The transplant’s brain-dead donor, Sultan Zafar, a 23-year-old dental surgery student, had perished due to the severe head injuries after being the victim of a serious accident.

After a week in the ICU, he was declared brain-dead. Deceased’s mother, Dr. Mehr Afroze, a Consultant Nephrologist at SIUT, took a courageous decision to donate her son’s kidneys to the patients who had critical conditions. The gesture was welcomed as deeply selfless and transformative.

In the early hours, SIUT’s skilled team of urologists and anaesthetists performed the transplant surgeries.

The donation was a miracle for both recipients, who were on dialysis and lacking family donors. Due to this, deceased organ donation became a flash of hope for them to live a renewed life.

Director of SIUT, Professor Adib Rizvi, lauded the family’s honourable act, appealing to society to seize the opportunity to save a life through organ donation. “This is a moment of kindness and hope,” he stated, calling for heightened awareness and acceptance of deceased organ donation across Pakistan.

According to SIUT’s old data, the institute led the way in deceased donor transplants in Pakistan, with the initial first procedure done in 1995.

Despite legal rules supporting organ donation, the public has limited knowledge in this regard. Experts estimate that thousands of patients die annually while waiting for transplants that could be made possible through delayed donations.

This case not only emphasises the experience of grieving families but also highlights the urgent need for a cultural shift toward promoting organ donation as a social standard.

With institutions like SIUT taking the lead, stories like Sultan Zafar’s can inspire others to change their loss into a way for everyone to heal together.