HYDERABAD: After a spate of cases of
sudden collapse
(due to cardiac arrest) were caught on camera in recent months causing people to take note of their
heart health
, the increase in such cases has now started showing up in official data.
Although elderly patients who have suddenly collapsed had been among organ donors, in recent days more younger patients have been recorded in the list of the Jeevandan Organ Donation Programme.
Although a record of sudden collapse cases is not maintained by any health authority, the Jeevandan records might be the only record hinting at such cases.
Among them is 38-year-old Kagithoju Harikrishna from Patel Nagar, Amberpet in the city, who suddenly collapsed at his house on October 9. He was rushed to a corporate hospital and after seven days of being in the intensive care unit, doctors declared him brain dead on October 16 as there was no improvement in his condition.
Upon counselling, his family agreed to donate six of his organs — kidneys, cornea, heart and liver.
40-year-old daily labourer Kommu Satyanarayana from Velkatte in Warangal, who ‘suddenly fell down at his residence’ on December 11, too featured in the list of donors after he was declared brain dead and his family was counselled by grief counsellors to donate his organs.
“Doctors had treated him in emergency and as there was no improvement after 24 hours of intensive treatment patient was declared brain dead on December 12, 2023 at 11:38 pm,” as per Jeevandan records. A week prior to that, 61-year-old famer Medaboina Pentaiah from Mannevaripampu, Bhongir collapsed at his home after having lunch.
While such cases are on the rise, Jeevandan authorities mostly saw elderly patients having a sudden collapse. “Most of the cases of donations are from road accident patients. We also get
organ donations
from elderly patients who have hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and have a sudden collapse at home,” Jeevandan Programme incharge Dr G Swarnalatha said.
English (US) ·