Parents donate eyes of two-and-half-month-old boy

Team from Ruby Hall retrieves corneas of child declared dead at Niramaya hospital; baby was born after 9 years of marriage

July 15 will remain an unforgettable day in the lives of Chinchwad residents Vikas and Vaibhavi More. The couple had to deal with the death of their two-and-half-month-old baby, and yet they steeled their hearts and performed an act of remarkable courage and kindness. Married for nine years, the couple had got a baby boy after years of treatment. Though their loss was great, they made the tough decision to donate their boy's eyes immediately after his death.

The baby was born at a private hospital in Chinchwad to transport business owner Vikas (41) and Vaibhavi (39). Born premature, the baby had to be shifted to the ICU. The infant was discharged after a month. Two months later, the baby developed hernia problems and had to be re-admitted to Pimpri's Niramaya hospital. But even before treatment could begin, the baby passed away.

"It was a difficult time and my wife and I were yet to come to terms with our grief. The idea of donation couldn't have entered our heads even remotely had it not been for my friend, who suggested it. He explained things to me calmly and we realised that we had lost what we had to, but we could at least help someone by this act of donation," said More.

The couple expressed their wish to donate the child's eyes and the hospital authorities contacted the eye bank at the Ruby Hall Clinic. "Within 15 minutes we had mobilised our team and technical support to retrieve the corneas and get these here," said Surekha Joshi, transplant co-ordinator at the hospital. While the team left for Niramaya hospital, Joshi completed allu00a0 the formalities of permissions from the police and other authorities.

When asked if the eyes had been donated, the team at Ruby Hall Clinic could not give details owing to privacy reasons. But MiD DAY learnt that the eyes of babies younger than a year are used for research purposes.

For Vikas, the pain from the loss of his only son is something he will have to live with for the rest of his life, but he is thankful that his son not only gave him the honour of being a parent but also helped someone even in his death.