Mumbai, Aug 22 (TNN): A 16-year-old from Mulund gave the gift of life to three patients after he was declared brain dead at Fortis Hospital in Mulund on Wednesday.

The city's cadaveric donation programme for the benefit of patients with organ failure has managed 29 donors so far this year, giving a fresh lease to 53 patients with kidney failure and 25 others with liver failure.

Rohit Pandey, a Class XI student, sustained severe head and chest injuries when a tyre of the vehicle he was travelling in on August 17 burst. None of the six others in the car, including his elder brother Rajendra, sustained severe injuries.

"Rohit was in the backseat and was thrown out of the SUV when it turned turtle and rolled three times just at the end of the Eastern Freeway," said his father Pramod. Rohit's neighbour and best friend who was sitting with him suffered a fractured arm.

Rohit was taken to the nearby state-run JJ Hospital in Byculla immediately, but the family transferred him to Fortis Hospital in Mulund as it is closer home. "The very next day, the doctors at Fortis told me he was brain dead. That night, I felt that as only his brain had suffered injuries, the other parts should be used to help others. That way, my son continues to live in five others (the family also donated his two corneas),'' said Pramod.

Of the two kidneys and the liver donated on Wednesday, the liver and one kidney went to patients registered for transplants at Fortis Hospital itself while the other kidney was donated to a patient registered at Nair Hospital near Mumbai Central.

"The family was extremely motivated to donate organs. Also, we received good support from officials at the Dongri police station," said Fortis Hospital officials.