The Transcendence
A 30-year-old Afghan military captain from Kandahar named Abdur Raheem, who lost his hands while defusing mines in the war torn country, now has two hands.
Abdul Rahim approached Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences,Kochi, after scouting for hand transplant in several countries. The donor was a 54-year-old brain dead accident victim namely T.Joseph.He was pronounced brain dead in a fatal car crash.His last wish was to donate his body to help others.
The transplant was carried out in a marathon surgical procedure in May 2015,lasting for almost 15 hours with more than 20 surgeons led by Dr.Subramaniya Iyer and eight anesthetists participating in it.
T.Joseph’s wife Fransisca and daughter Aleesha, witnessed his final act of kindness when they both saw his hands attached to the body of Captain Abdur Raheem.
The donor was a Christian,the lead surgeon was a Hindu and the recipient was a Muslim.
How true that humanity transcends all belief systems!
Waseem Altaf