Kerala to pay tribute to youngest organ donor Alin Sherin with police honours

The Kerala Government has decided to give police honours to Alin Sherin Abraham, the ten-month-old infant from Mallappally in Pathanamthitta, who became the youngest organ donor in the state's history.

In an official communication issued by the General Administration Protocol Department on February 14, the Secretary to the Government informed the District Collector and the District Police Chief of Pathanamthitta about the arrangements to be made in connection with her funeral. The last rites will be held on February 15 at 3.00 pm at St Thomas CSI Church, Nedungadappally.

Describing her passing as an irreparable loss, the government noted that Alin Sherin Abraham’s decision, taken with the consent of her family, exemplified extraordinary compassion and humanity. As a mark of respect to the departed soul and in recognition of her noble act, the District Collector has been instructed to place wreaths on the mortal remains on behalf of the Chief Minister and the Government of Kerala. The District Police Chief has been directed to accord police honours with a bugle salute.

Kerala scripted a new chapter in organ donation when Alin, barely ten months old, gave new hope to four patients awaiting transplants. After she was declared brain-dead following critical injuries sustained in a road accident on February 5 near Pallam Borma Junction on the MC Road in Kottayam, her parents consented to donate her organs through the state’s organ sharing network, K-SOTTO.

Her organs were retrieved at Amrita Hospital in Kochi and transported to Thiruvananthapuram under tight police escort. The ambulance carrying the organs left around 7.15 pm and reached the state capital shortly after 10.30 pm, with traffic curbs imposed along the route to ensure swift and uninterrupted passage.

Her heart valve was allocated to Sree Chitra Institute in Thiruvananthapuram, her liver to KIMS Hospital, and her kidneys to Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College. Her eyes will also be donated to the Eye Bank. The kidneys are set to be transplanted into a 10-year-old girl undergoing treatment at the Government Medical College, while a six-month-old girl from Thiruvananthapuram will receive the liver.

Health Minister Veena George had thanked the grieving parents for their courageous decision, calling it an act that would save and transform young lives. The state’s gesture of police honours stands as a tribute not only to a life lost too soon, but to a family’s extraordinary resolve to turn tragedy into hope.