Delhi Painter Gets Hands Back As Organ Donation Meets Surgical Excellence

The man who lost his hands in a train accident has got a bilateral hand transplant

New Delhi:

A painter who lost both hands in a tragic accident is about to hold his brush again, thanks to the surgical excellence of a group of Delhi doctors and a woman’s organ donation pledge that transformed four lives.

The 45-year-old, whose case is the first successful bilateral hand transplant in Delhi, will be released from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital tomorrow. He had lost both his hands in a train accident in 2020. Coming from an underprivileged background, he was staring at a dead end.

But miracles happen. The hands of Meena Mehta, former administrative head of a prominent South Delhi school who was declared brain-dead, came to the 45-year-old’s rescue. Ms Mehta had, during her lifetime, pledged her organs to be used after her death.

Her kidney, liver and corneas have transformed the lives of three others. And her hands have revived a painter’s dreams after a crushing setback.

But this would not have been possible without the hard work of the team of doctors that pulled off the Himalayan task. The surgery, which took more than 12 hours, involved connecting every artery, muscle, tendon and nerve between the donor’s hands and the recipient’s arms. Dedication paid off and at the end, when the team of healthcare staff posed for a picture, the double thumbs-up by the painter who got his hands back was the highlight.