The organs of a brain dead 24-year-old engineer were transplanted to six persons, including one from Chennai. The engineer, E. Vetrivel, of Chinniyagoundanpudur in Tirupur was working in Singapore and was involved in a car accident on August 27. He was declared brain dead at 8.30 AM after surgery failed to revive him.

Vetrivel suffered a head injury when he tried to overtake a cement-laden truck and met with an accident. His mother and sister, who were in the car, escaped with minor injuries. Vetrivel suffered from internal hemorrhage and could not be saved. Doctors tried to convince his parents to donate his organs. His father, E. Eswaran (54), a farmer, agreed.

The surgery was conducted by a team of doctors lead by Dr. Elangovan Veerappan at KG Hospital. “A team of doctors began retrieving vital organs from 7.15 AM on Saturday. By 1 PM, Vetrivel’s heart, liver, kidneys, eyes, and skin were retrieved and were sent to various hospitals. Doctors at Sri Ramachandra Medical College harvested the heart. The other organs were sent to private hospitals in Coimbatore. Both the eyes were sent to Aravind Eye Hospital. While one kidney was used for a patient at KG Hospital, the other kidney was sent to PSG Hospital. The liver was sent to GEM Hospital and the skin to Ganga Hospital,” said a source at the hospital.

Hospital sources they did not have time to approach the police to prepare a green corridor for transporting the organs.