India, Feb. 17 -- On a quiet Sunday afternoon in Pathanamthitta district, the tiny white coffin of 10-month-old Aalin Sherin Abraham was lowered into the earth to the sound of muffled sobs and whispered prayers.

Hundreds gathered - neighbours, strangers, officials - not merely to mourn a life that ended far too soon, but to honour an act of extraordinary generosity: Aalin, declared brain-dead after a tragic road accident, became Kerala's youngest recorded organ donor, her parents consenting to donate her organs so that others might live.

In the days since her death, admiration has poured in from across the state - from health ministerial tributes to hundreds of locals lining the funeral route. Yet while Aalin's story is one of compassio...