“We called him DJ V or Master Chef Viraj,” recalls Dheran Shahi of his younger brother Viraj, who died waiting for a double lung and kidney transplant. “He was truly the best brother anyone could ask for. I was lucky he was mine,” Dheran says sadly.
The loss of his brother has had a significant impact on Dheran and ignited his passion for organ donation awareness and transplant research. The topic of organ donation was first broached in the Shahi household when Viraj was just an infant. Born with idiopathic lung disease, Viraj spent his life dependent on oxygen. As he grew, the discussion around transplantation became urgent as it was evident that it was Viraj’s only hope of survival. The last two years of his life, Viraj was a constant presence at BC Children’s Hospital before being transferred to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. His family hoped that he would receive a much-needed multi-organ transplant there. Unfortunately, that day never came. Two weeks before his eighth birthday, Viraj lost to his battle to end-stage organ disease.
“He was truly the best brother anyone could ask for. I was lucky he was mine.”
