In an extraordinary act of compassion rising from immeasurable grief, the organs of 17-year-old Ayona Monson have breathed new life into five patients across Kerala.
Ayona, a Plus Two student of Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School, Payyavoor, died after sustaining critical head injuries when she jumped from the multi-storey school building earlier this week. The exact circumstances leading to the incident are yet to be ascertained.
Following her death, Ayona became the donor in a landmark multi-organ transplantation, setting a precedent in the state’s medical history. One of her kidneys was transported from Kannur to the Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, via a commercial IndiGo flight — the first time in Kerala that an organ has been flown between districts aboard a passenger aircraft.
Given the vast distance and the narrow window for transplantation, authorities opted for air transport to ensure the organ’s viability. The flight landed at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport at 10.42 am, and the kidney reached the medical college by 11 am through a meticulously coordinated green corridor.
Ayona’s other kidney was transplanted at Aster MIMS Hospital in Kozhikode. Her liver was donated to a patient at Meithra Hospital, also in Kozhikode, while her two corneas were sent to Thalassery District Hospital, restoring sight to two individuals.
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The entire operation was coordinated by the Kerala State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (K-SOTTO), with the police facilitating seamless transportation through green corridors.
Ayona was initially taken to Payyavoor Hospital and later shifted to Aster MIMS Hospital after doctors detected a lung air leak and brain haemorrhage. Despite surgical intervention and ventilator support, she was declared brain dead on January 14. In a moment of remarkable courage, her family consented to organ donation, allowing her legacy to live on through others.
Health Minister Veena George expressed profound gratitude to Ayona’s family, describing their decision as a beacon of humanity. “Their choice has illuminated the lives of others even as they endure an irreplaceable loss,” the minister said, adding that the state stands firmly with the grieving family.
Ayona is survived by her parents, K. M. Monson and Anitha Monson, and her siblings, Martin Monson and Angel Monson. Her body has been kept at the mortuary, and the funeral will be held on Friday, January 16.
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