The Delhi High Court has stayed proceedings in a criminal defamation case filed against Sudarshan TV and its editor Suresh Chavhanke in connection with allegations that his channel made false accusations against a madrasa. The case against Chavhanke was filed by Mohammed Tufail Khan
China said on Sunday (August 23, 2026) it was postponing its planned ambitious Chang'e-7 lunar mission, which was set to carry out explorations including searching for water ice on the moon. The Chang'e-7 spacecraft was originally set to lift off in the coming days from the Wenchang Space Launch
Canada’s Carney Puts His ‘No Deal Is Better Than a Bad Deal’ Doctrine to the Test The prime minister ’s approach has broad support from the Canadian public and his political opponents, but it isn’t without risks. Published on: Aug 24, 2026, 14:05:27 IST WSJ Prefer HTon Google Share via
A group of former cricket captains, including Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar and one of England's longest-serving skippers Sir Alastair Cook, have called on Pakistan to ensure its ex-PM Imran Khan be given proper care while in custody. The cricketer-turned-politician has been in jail since
Fewer than 20 commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend, shipping data showed on Monday (August 24, 2026), as Iranian and U.S. blockades restrict traffic through the chokepoint for energy shipments. Four vessels crossed the strait on Sunday (August 23, 2026)
Life after loss: One man’s organ donation gave life to strangers across India
Life after loss: One man’s organ donation gave life to strangers across India
A Chennai emergency physician’s husband, Arvind, was declared brain dead after a road accident, but his prior decision to be an organ donor saved multiple lives across South India.
For nearly three decades, Dr. Nisha Varadarajan had worked as an emergency physician in Chennai, standing daily at the fragile border between life and death. Over 27 years, she had delivered difficult news to families, witnessed unlikely recoveries, and carried the emotional weight that comes with practicing emergency medicine.
But one night, the experienced doctor found herself on the other side of the hospital curtain.
Her husband, Arvind, a civil engineer known for his quiet practicality, had been driving back from a site inspection near Sriperumbudur on a late September evening when his car was struck by a speeding lorry. The call that followed came from an unfamiliar number, first a police officer, then a paramedic.
By the time Nisha reached the trauma centre at her own hospital, Arvind had already been intubated. Machines breathed rhythmically beside him as doctors worked to stabilize his injuries. Colleagues who had spent years working alongside her struggled to meet her eyes.
A CT scan soon confirmed the severity of the situation: extensive brain injury, swelling, and hemorrhage. There was no surgical option. “As a doctor, she could read the scans before anyone spoke,” a colleague later recalled. “But as a wife, accepting the reality was something else.”
For two days, Nisha remained beside Arvind’s hospital bed, holding his hand. Their 17-year-old daughter, Meenal, leaned close to her father, whispering about her upcoming board exams and even the stray cat he used to feed outside their apartment.
Repeated clinical tests were conducted. Independent specialists performed examinations. There were no brainstem reflexes and no spontaneous breathing effort.
Following strict medical protocol, doctors declared brain death. The word carried a heavy finality.
Soon after, a transplant coordinator approached Nisha carefully. The two had known each other professionally through seminars and awareness programs about organ donation. But now the subject had become deeply personal.
“Doctor,” the coordinator said gently, “Arvind had signed a donor card when he renewed his driver’s licence three years ago.”
The memory returned immediately. Arvind had once come home holding the laminated card with a half-joking smile. “Look,” he had said at the time, “even after I’m gone, I’ll still be useful.”
Nisha had smiled at the practicality then. Neither of them imagined how soon that promise might matter.
As mother and daughter discussed the decision, Meenal asked a quiet but important question. “Will it hurt him?” “No,” Nisha replied softly. “He cannot feel pain.”
The room fell silent.
Then Meenal reached into her backpack and pulled out her father’s small leather-bound diary. Arvind carried it everywhere, filling it with engineering sketches, reminders, and occasional reflections. She opened to a page written six months earlier.
“If something happens to me, let something good come from it. Bridges should connect. Even in death.”
For Nisha, the words sounded unmistakably like the man she had known for decades. The family gave consent.
Within hours, transplant coordination networks across South India began moving quickly.
In Bengaluru, 25-year-old software developer Kaviraj had been battling end-stage liver disease caused by an autoimmune condition. Months of illness had drained his strength while his family waited anxiously for a donor match.
In Hyderabad, eight-year-old twins Diya and Divit had spent much of their childhood navigating hospitals. Divit was born with a rare congenital heart condition and urgently needed a transplant.
Meanwhile, in Kochi, retired school principal Leelamma had gradually lost her vision over five years, describing the world around her as “a memory painted in shadows.”
Arvind’s organs were matched through rigorous cross-checking of blood group, tissue compatibility, and medical urgency. Flights were arranged, emergency green corridors created, and surgical teams assembled across cities.
While the organ retrieval surgery was performed, Nisha waited quietly in the hospital chapel, a place she had passed countless times but rarely entered. She did not ask for strength. She asked for dignity. Hours later, updates arrived.
The liver transplant for Kaviraj was successful. One kidney began functioning immediately in its recipient, while the other patient remained stable. Divit’s transplant surgery was underway, and corneal retrieval had been completed.
Arvind, who had spent his career building bridges of steel and concrete, had now unknowingly created connections between strangers across cities.
The weeks after his death were filled with absence. The apartment felt unusually quiet without his morning humming. His engineering helmet remained on its usual shelf. Sometimes Meenal instinctively sets an extra plate at the dining table before remembering.
Then letters began to arrive. Kaviraj wrote first, sharing that he had returned to coding. “My mother says she hasn’t seen me smile in months,” he wrote. “I promise to build something meaningful with this second chance.”
Soon after came a photograph from Hyderabad. Divit sat upright in a hospital bed, tubes fewer than before, his eyes bright. “He asked when he can play cricket,” his parents wrote.
Another message arrived from Kochi, dictated by Leelamma to her grandson. “I saw sunlight today through my window,” she said. “It felt like forgiveness.”
Months later, through official channels and mutual consent, Nisha and Meenal met Kaviraj at a transplant awareness conference. Nervous and emotional, he approached them with folded hands.
“I don’t know what to say,” he admitted. Nisha’s reply was simple. “Then don’t,” she said. “Just live.”
Returning to her work at the hospital, colleagues noticed a subtle change in the way Nisha spoke with families facing similar situations. When discussing brain death, she now spoke more slowly, more personally.
Instead of only explaining the medical protocols, she spoke about connection, about bridges. One evening, while sorting through her father’s belongings, Meenal discovered another note tucked inside the back cover of Arvind’s diary. “We measure life in years. Maybe we should measure it in impact.”
The words stayed with her. In time, Meenal decided she wanted to study public health. For the Varadarajan family, grief has never disappeared. It returns during festivals, school milestones, and quiet Sunday afternoons.
But alongside the loss remains something else, the knowledge that Arvind’s final decision reflected the way he lived his life. He had spent years building bridges across rivers and highways. In the end, his final bridge carried life to people he would never meet.
Organ donation registration in India is facilitated by the National Organ & Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Citizens aged 18+ can pledge to donate organs online at notto.abdm.gov.in or by filling Form 7. Registered donors receive a donor card, signifying their intent.
Source: ZeeNews
Related Posts: organ donation, organ donor story Chennai,Organ Donation, organ donor story Chennai
India had asked the United States not to allow reporters to ask questions during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France in June, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said on Saturday
8 hours ago
Former Australian captain Greg Chappell with the support of 20 other former international skippers appealed to the Pakistan Government led by Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, to provide ‘humane treatment and proper medical care’ for Imran Khan
11 hours ago
The shock resignation of Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran earlier this month has left corporate India's top job vacant. But finding his successor will be no easy task for the country's most revered conglomerate, whose sprawling $300bn empire spans Jaguar Land Rover and Air India as well as
11 hours ago
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian defended a memorandum of understanding with the United States as the best way out of a stalled war. Meanwhile, the new head of the Islamic Republic's top security body warned, in a more forceful tone, of retaliation if neighbouring countries support U.S
11 hours ago
Authorities in China have launched an investigation into reports of formaldehyde being used to preserve the freshness of cabbages for human consumption. Officials in the northeastern Hebei province confirmed that they had verified footage showing individuals dipping cabbages in a solution before
11 hours ago
Three newborns died after a fire that broke out in the neonatal intensive care unit of a government hospital in Maharashtra’s Amravati district in the early hours of Monday, PTI reported. The fire broke out at the Amravati District Women’s Hospital around 3
11 hours ago
Imran's party demands immediate cardiac care for him at Shifa International Hospital Imran's party demands immediate cardiac care for him at Shifa International Hospital Published on: Aug 24, 2026, 11:10:49 IST PTI Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link Islamabad
11 hours ago
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s three-day visit to New Delhi in July 2026 for the India-Japan summit appears to have elevated relations between the two Asian countries into a fresh phase of strategic expansion. Ties had already undergone a remarkable transformation over the past decade
11 hours ago
How well do COVID antivirals actually work? Not as well as we thought How well do COVID antivirals actually work? Not as well as we thought Published on: Aug 24, 2026, 11:11:50 IST PTI Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link Sydeny, If you're aged over 70
11 hours ago
On Sunday, in a post on X, Wali said the audio contained "explosive evidence" and claimed that Brar admitted his gang had ordered Nijjar's killing, alleging that the assassination was driven by an inter-gang feud. Ottawa: Three years after NIA designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed in
14 hours ago
Until recently, there would have been little to distinguish Vietnam's so-called Justice Tree from the hundreds of others lining the streets of Hanoi. Then the bouquets started piling up. It was here that former politician Nguyen Sy Cuong was driving his BMW in May last year when he veered into the
14 hours ago
Fast-fashion giant Shein says it plans to raise up to HK13.86bn (£1.3bn; $1.77bn) when its shares start trading on the Hong Kong stock market on 1 September. In a filing on Monday, Shein said it will offer nearly 280 million shares for between HK$47.60 and HK$49.50
14 hours ago
A fast-moving, wind-driven wildfire near Reno, Nevada, has forced about 42,000 people to evacuate, while another 45,000 have been urged to prepare to leave. The Hawk Fire has burned 15,040 acres, destroyed some homes and injured six people. Officials declared a state of emergency as the blaze
14 hours ago
Former Indian diplomat Navdeep Suri has raised concerns about the verification process under the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Suri, a retired Indian Foreign Services officer, went through the process in Punjab. It is among the 16 states where the voter roll revision is being
14 hours ago
A moderate earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 rattled eastern Japan, including the Tokyo area, early Sunday (August 23, 2026), injuring more than 20 people, most of them slightly, officials said. There was no danger of a tsunami. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency
1 days ago
Chinese humanoid robots broke records set by humans, including beating Usain Bolt’s 100-meter sprint world record, on the opening day of the Olympics-like World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Saturday (August 22, 2026). More than 2,000 humanoid robots were participating in the event
1 days ago
One afternoon in 1907, a young accountant named Chandrasekhar Venkata Raman walked into the laboratory of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science at 210 Bowbazar Street in Calcutta. Though he had a passion for the sciences, colonial India offered no stable careers in the field
1 days ago
Three first information reports were filed against 14 identified and more than 200 unidentified persons on Saturday in connection with clashes between the police and student protesters a day earlier, PTI quoted Ranchi Superintendent of Police Paras Rana as saying
1 days ago
Did an Amazon delivery guy assault a 71-year-old man in California? What we know about the attack and lawsuit A California lawsuit alleged that an Amazon delivery driver assaulted a 71-year-old man at an Elk Grove gas station. Updated on: Aug 23, 2026
1 days ago
‘Pure evil’: Videos of mothers splashing water at their kids spark outrage amid Lindsay Clancy trial Social media videos of mothers throwing water at their children have sparked concerns amid Lindsay Clancy's trial. Published on: Aug 23, 2026
1 days ago
The sister of jailed former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday (August 22, 2026) filed a petition in the Supreme Court, accusing the government and senior officials of violating the top court’s order to shift him to a private hospital for medical examination and treatment
1 days ago
The United States and Canada have entered into uncharted territory. The longtime allies and economic partners, who have enjoyed free trade for decades, are now in an escalating trade war with no clear off ramp. And for Prime Minister Mark Carney
1 days ago
Harrisburg weather update: Special Weather Statement issued for central Pennsylvania as thunderstorms bring 40mph wind NWS has issued a Special Weather Statement for Harrisburg and surrounding parts of central Pennsylvania. Published on: Aug 23, 2026
1 days ago
The police in Maharashtra’s Latur have registered a first information report against Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign, for allegedly entering a government school without permission, threatening teachers and defaming the institution
1 days ago
The United States and Iran exchanged defiant messages ahead of Monday’s (August 24, 2026) scheduled announcement of new U.S. economic sanctions that could impact the Islamic Republic and Tehran’s most important trading partners including China
1 days ago
Fourteen people were killed in military air strikes at a monastery in Myanmar early on Friday, opposition fighters and a local rescue worker have said. All of those killed were elderly and a number of monks were also injured, the rescue worker told BBC Burmese, adding that the site was struck twice
1 days ago
The Armed Forces Tribunal on Thursday upheld an administrative censure for a brigadier who was commanding a sector of the Rashtriya Rifles in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district in December 2023 when three civilians died during an interrogation following a militant attack
1 days ago
