Lucky man: Aman Lal Makhija received a life-saving liver transplant at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in the Capital

Humanity and compassion know no boundaries, and a classic example of this was seen recently in the national Capital.

Aman Lal Makhija, 40, a Pakistani who was struggling for his life a few weeks ago, was saved when good Samaritans not only from his home country but also from India came to his rescue.

Makhija is from Sind region in Pakistan, and when his liver started failing he was advised to go in for a liver transplant in India.

He came to Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital with a donor named Dilshad Ali from Pakistan for company.

And then one day when an urgent need for blood arose, Dilshad Ali pasted pamphlets near the hospital, asking people to donate blood for Makhija.

It caught the attention of a group of students preparing to take civil services examinations from a coaching centre in West Delhi. A group of 12 students came forward to donate their blood for Makhija.

Doctors Dr K.R. Vasudevan and Dr Abhideep Chaudhary, who operated upon the patient, said that due to the timely contribution of blood, the team was able to successfully perform a complicated Liver Transplant Surgery on February 27.

“Usually all liver transplant patients are advised to arrange 10 units of blood in case of any eventuality. But being from Pakistan, the family did not have any donors. The noble act of blood donation by these students really touched us all,” said Dr Vasudevan, a liver transplant surgeon.

Makhija, who runs a medical store in Pakistan, said: “This rebirth is the best Holi gift to me by Indian doctors and students.”

“There are about 400 Hindu families in our area. We have never faced any problems in Pakistan. Here everyone, including these young students, has been so helpful. The students even came to enquire about my brother’s health and have invited me to take part in Holi celebrations. My family will always remain obliged to them,” Jawahar Lal Makhija, the patient’s brother, said.

“The patient was suffering from Hepatitis –B infection for the last three years and needed an urgent liver transplant. We performed this surgery on February 27. A part of his bother-in-law’s healthy liver was transplanted in a 7-hour surgery. Both donor and recipient are fine now and will be discharged in a week,” said Dr Abhideep Chaudhary, a liver transplant surgeon.