Lalitha Dharmalingam’s family could not have forerseen that a routine evening walk could turn into a tragedy. Lalitha, a resident of Peerkankaranai, Chennai, was hit by an autorickshaw on 17th May 2008 when she was walking near her home. She was rushed to Deepam Hospitals in West Tambaram. T.N.Ravisankar, Director of Deepam Hospitals, said she had sustained a severe head injury. As a result, the brain was badly damaged. A neurosurgeon certified that Lalitha was brain dead. Her relatives were given the option of organ donation, said Dr. Ravisankar, who is also State secretary of the Indian Medical Association.

“We did not hesitate even for a moment,” said D. Balaji (35), the youngest among three brothers, his elder brothers being Vivekanandan (40) and Ramesh (38). “I had another elder brother, Santhanam, who died in a road accident on Velachery Main Road in Selaiyur eight years ago. He was 32 years old then,” Mr. Balaji added, “That accident made us think about organ donation, but it did not become a reality then.”

And when the request to donate their mother’s organs was made, the family felt that the best way to turn this tragedy into a triumph of sorts was by helping others live through organ donation. From Deepam Hospital, Lalitha was shifted to Apollo Hospitals, where her eyes, kidneys and liver were retrieved for transplantation.