On Friday, in Valsad, Gujarat, a Raksha Bandhan celebration became a deeply emotional reunion between two families connected by tragedy and hope. Sixteen-year-old Anamta Ahmed from Mumbai tied a rakhi to 14-year-old Shivam Mistry, using the very hand that once belonged to his late sister, Riya.
Last year, Riya, a nine-year-old from Valsad, fell severely ill with a brain haemorrhage and was declared brain-dead. Her parents, Bobby and Trishna Mistry, decided to donate her organs through the Surat-based NGO Donate Life. Among the recipients was Anamta, who had lost her right hand in 2022 after coming in contact with a high-tension wire while playing in her father’s ancestral home in Aligarh. Her left arm was also badly injured, with only 20% functionality at the time.
Riya’s right hand, donated from the shoulder, was transplanted onto Anamta in Mumbai, making her the youngest person in the world to undergo a shoulder-level hand transplant. Riya’s kidneys, liver, lungs, corneas, and left hand also went to other patients, saving or transforming eight lives in total.
When Anamta and her parents travelled to Valsad a day before Raksha Bandhan, the Mistry family had no idea of the surprise planned by the NGO. “When I met Anamta and held her hands, it felt as if my Riya came back to life,” said Riya’s mother, Trishna, with tears in her eyes. “She is now my daughter too, and Riya will always live on in her.”
Shivam, visibly moved, said, “Her hands were the same, even the texture. It felt like Riya was tying the rakhi again. I will visit her next year, and this tradition will continue for life.”
For Anamta, the meeting was equally overwhelming. “I never met Riya, but she made my life whole. When her mother hugged me, I felt like I was just the medium — it was Riya uniting with her brother,” she said.
Nilesh Mandlewala, founder of Donate Life, said, “Usually, a donor’s identity is not revealed, but here, humanity rose above all boundaries. It was tradition and compassion coming together in the purest form.”
Anamta, now a Class 12 student in Mumbai, uses her regained ability to create social media content encouraging others to face challenges with courage. She has been featured in podcasts, delivered TEDx talks, and continues to see herself as carrying forward not just her own story, but Riya’s as well.
