Basavanna Gowda, 34, a Karnataka resident, had lost both his hands in an accident a decade ago, while working in a rice mill in Bellary district. After years of despair, Gowda has received a new lease of life through a complex hand transplant at Amrita Hospital in Kochi.
The transplanted hands belonged to Kottayam resident Nevis Sajan Mathew, 25, who was declared brain dead on September 25 last year. His parents — Sajan Mathew and Sherin — readily agreed to donate their son’s organs, including hands. And that is when Basavanna’s long wait for a new pair of hands came to an end.