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Teenage girl exemplifies selflessness by donating her body for research

Mangaluru: A teenage student from the city has exemplified selflessness by donating her body for scientific research. Through her munificent act, the tenth standard girl student has become a role model for youngsters like her to act for the larger interests of the society.

Daughter of Kumaraswamy Kokkada and Vandana couple, Prathiksha (16), was a brilliant student from Ashoknagar here. She was ailing from a chronic ailment and when she felt that death was closing in on her, she requested her parents to donate her body if she failed to survive as her last wish. Accordingly, after Prathiksha breathed her last, her parents fulfilled her wish on Thursday November 1st.

The family

Prathiksha is survived by her parents, an elder brother, Prajwal Krishna, who is a second year degree student of St Aloysius College here, and Preetham, her twin-brother. The twins were pursuing 10th standard studies at Sharada Vidyalaya at Kodiyalbail.

The ailment

When Prathiksha was studying in sixth standard, she was diagnosed as suffering from a form of bone cancer. She then underwent treatment which lasted for two years post which she had completely recovered. However, her condition relapsed within a year. Nonetheless, the brave student continued with her education while simultaneously battling with her condition. Yet, after battling against her ailment for a total of five years, her condition continued to deteriorate and she breathed her last on Wednesday night in a private hospital.

Kumaraswamy Kokkada and Vandana couple’s children were very good at studies and extracurricular activities. The children were trained in music, Yakshagana and Bharatanatyam. Prathiksha used to score well in exams and had also cleared junior grade examination in Carnatic classical music.

Wished to become a doctor

Prathiksha wished to study hard and become a doctor; therefore she was much interested in the field of science. In this backdrop she expressed her wish to donate her body, informed her father Kumaraswamy and added that the president of Sharada Vidyalaya also had encouraged such a proposal.

The inspiration behind Prathiksha’s last wish was her elder brother Prajwal Krishna, who has immense interest in social service activities. Prathiksha reportedly asked her mother about 20 days back to donate her body to KMC Hospital if she breathed her last, and accordingly her parents met her wishes on Thursday.

We fulfilled her wish

“Traditionally (Bhraman), we do not donate body. But, in order to fulfill her wish we agreed to it,” said Kumaraswamy Kokkada.