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  India   All India  29 Feb 2020  Afghan solder with ‘Kerala hands’ dies in bomb blast

Afghan solder with ‘Kerala hands’ dies in bomb blast

THE ASIAN AGE | SMITHA N
Published : Feb 29, 2020, 3:07 pm IST
Updated : Feb 29, 2020, 3:07 pm IST

Major Abdul Rahim received a transplant of hands from Kerala accident victim T G Joseph

File photo of Major Abdul Rahim of the Afghan army who received a transplant of hands from a Kerala accident victim.
 File photo of Major Abdul Rahim of the Afghan army who received a transplant of hands from a Kerala accident victim.

Kochi: When Major Abdul Rahim, a soldier in the Afghan army, died in a bomb blast in Kabul on February 19, a tear was shed for him in far away Ernakulam district of Kerala.

The major had received a transplant of hands from Eloor native T G Joseph back in 2015, and the latter’s family had grown attached to the Afghan soldier.

Maj. Abdul Rahim, a bomb disposal expert, had lost his hands in an explosion in 2012. For three years thereafter, he struggled with his handicap. Then, when 54-year-old Joseph passed away in a road accident, it was decided to give his hands to the Afghan major.

The transplant procedure was successfully performed by a team of doctors led by Dr. Subrahmania Iyer at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences in Kochi.

After the transplant and an intensive spell of physiotherapy, Abdul Rahim could regain a considerable part of his hands’ functions. He rejoined the army and returned to defuse bombs in his war-torn country.

In gratitude, Major Abdul Rahim would visit Kochi every year to meet Joseph’s family.  

“We were shocked to hear of the demise of Major Abdul Rahim. Though Joseph left us, a part of him lived on. Abdul Rahim was a living memorial for us. Whenever he came to the Amrita institute for a consultation, we used to visit him,” Joseph’s wife was quoted as saying by Mathrubhoomi daily.

Major Abdul Rahim struck up a good friendship with his predecessor, in a way of speaking: the first person to have had a successful hand transplant at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences. T R Manu became a close friend of the Afghan solider and kept regularly in touch.

Tags: major abdul rahim, afghan army, t g joseph, hand transplant, amrita institute of medical sciences
Location: India, Kerala, Calicut (Kozhikode)