A painter who had lost both his hands in an accident has received a new set of limbs after a donation by a woman who had pledged her organs to be used following her death and as doctors at Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital performed a complex surgery.

In October 2020, Raj Kumar, now 45, was crossing the railway tracks in Nangloi on his bicycle when he lost control and was run over by the train losing both his hands. Kumar had been using prosthetics but his prosthetic trial was unsuccessful.

His only hope was a hand transplant. And, a pledge by Meena Mehta, former administrative head of a South Delhi school who was declared brain-dead, came to his help.