An Army junior commissioned officer (JCO) gave a fresh lease of life to six critically ill persons across the country through organ donation after his death. The noble act also marked a new milestone for the Command Hospital, Chandimandir, which carried out its first lung retrieval procedure.

In an act of humanity and compassion, the family of Naib Risaldar Virender Singh donated his organs after he was declared brain dead on July 21. Belonging to the Armoured Corps, he suffered a brain stroke while deployed in high-altitude areas of Ladakh at 16,000 feet. Despite immediate medical aid and swift aero-medical evacuation to the Command Hospital on July 16, he could not recover.

Displaying courage and resilience even under immense grief, his wife Kusum volunteered to donate his organs. Two kidneys, liver, lungs and two corneas were successfully retrieved and transplanted to patients, saving their life.

This is the first lung retrieval in the history of Command Hospital and marks a medical milestone which epitomises the technical prowess of Army’s medical stream, a defence spokesperson said on Thursday.

The organs were allocated to eligible recipients across the country through the organ sharing network. A kidney and both corneas were transplanted at Command Hospital, Chandimandir. The second kidney was sent to the State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation, Haryana, the liver to Army Hospital (Research and Referral), New Delhi, and the lungs to KIMS, Hyderabad. A green corridor was established through coordination between the Military Police, the civil administration and local authorities for timely transfer of the donated organs.