Bappa’s blessing: Two years after accident, Goregaon teenager gets new hand

The medical team on their way to Mumbai from Surat with the limb

A 15-year-old girl from Goregaon, who lost her right hand two years ago, received an unexpected blessing on Anant Chaturdashi thanks to the family of a nine-year-old girl from Valsad who decided to donate her organs after she was declared braindead. The donor, Riya Bobby Mistry, a Std IV student, collapsed while at play on the evening of September 13.

She was then rushed to a local hospital from where she was shifted to the Surat-based Kiran hospital as her condition deteriorated. On September 15, she was declared braindead. Riya's foster mother, Dr Usha Mistry, then told her biological parents, Trishna and Bobby Mistry, that though the child had lost her life, in death, she could save others. The family decided to donate organs to hospitals in Surat, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Hyderabad.

Riya Bobby Mistry, the donor

They agreed to the procedure and got in touch with Nilesh Mandlewala, founder of the Surat-based Donate Life organisation, to initiate the process. It was then learnt that the teenager from Goregaon was in need of a right hand and the limb was transported to the Gleneagles Hospital in Parel in 90 minutes on Tuesday, September 17, via a chartered flight thanks to the joint efforts of the Surat and Mumbai police, who created a green corridor for the medical team.

Dr Nilesh Satbhai, the plastic surgeon who performed this surgery, told mid-day, "The surgery was a success. The patient, who had lost her limb due to an electric shock, is no longer on ventilator support. The blood circulation in her hand is fine. It will take time for movement depending on recovery. She will take at least a year to recover completely."