Brain-dead Indore man given state honours after family donates organs

The Madhya Pradesh government has accorded a state farewell with a guard of honour to a 49-year-old man declared brain-dead after a road accident, following his family’s decision to donate his organs.

Vijay Jaiswal, a property dealer from Khargone town, was admitted to a private hospital in Indore on 15 February with severe head injuries sustained in a crash. Despite medical efforts, doctors later declared him brain-dead.

Sandipan Arya, coordinator of the Indore Society for Organ Donation, said the family agreed to organ donation after consultations with medical staff. Surgeons subsequently retrieved Jaiswal’s heart, liver and both kidneys.

The heart was transported by special flight to Ahmedabad for transplantation, while the liver and kidneys were allocated to patients at hospitals in Indore.

At his funeral on Thursday, police personnel lined up to present a guard of honour, raising their rifles in salute on command. Senior police and administrative officials attended the ceremony.

Jaiswal’s wife, Aradhana, said the family took solace in knowing that his organs would help save the lives of several critically ill patients. “My husband’s organ donation will give a new lease of life to members of three or four families. It was with that thought that we made this decision,” she said.

The gesture follows another recent case of organ donation recognised with state honours. On 15 February, a 10-month-old girl in Kerala was laid to rest with official tributes after becoming the state’s youngest organ donor, following her parents’ decision to donate her organs.

With PTI inputs