Despite the tragedy of losing his young son, a washer man, volunteered to donate organs of his son, which gave a new lease of life to eight.

The first year engineering student, Ramesh, met with an accident near Dharapuram on February 22, while returning home from college on his motorcycle.

Passersby rushed him with serious head injuries to Dharapuram Government Hospital. He was not wearing a helmet. He was later shifted to Kovai Medical Center and Hospital (KMCH) the same day evening.

Ramesh did not respond to treatment and he was declared brain dead the next day morning, a KMCH release said today.

Ramalingam, father of Ramesh was aware of organ donation and came forward to donate his son’s organs, after convincing his relatives, it said.

A team of doctors from KMCH and Coimbatore Government Hospital swung into action and completed the statutory requirement. The heart, liver, pancreas, kidneys, eyes and skin were harvested this morning.

The liver and a kidney were given to KMCH, heart and pancreas sent to private hospitals in Chennai, while another kidney, eyes and skin were sent to other private hospitals in the city, thus being of use to eight persons.