Indore gives its heart to Mumbai

The girl’s father also has a medical history of the disease. Although she was undergoing regular treatment at Indore’s Maharaja Yashwantrao (MY) Hospital for epilepsy, she suffered a round of attack on Friday and fell off from a chair.

By the time she was rushed to MY Hospital, she had become comatose and was put on ventilation. By Saturday, her body failed to respond to treatment and a blood clot was found in her brain. The family was informed about the death of her brain stem and counseled about cadaver donation. After the family gave their consent, her heart, liver, skin and both kidneys were extracted.

The heart has been transplanted into a 16-year-old Vikhroli-based girl, who was suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy and was waitlisted with Fortis Hospital in Mulund for a heart donation. The liver has been flown to Delhi for transplant while both the kidneys and the skin were donated to patients in Indore.

According to transplant surgeon Dr Anvay Mulay, the heart was harvested by 7.11 am, Sunday, at Choithram Hospital and reached Devi Ahilyabai Airport in Indore at 7.24 am through a green corridor. About five signals were blocked for the ambulance to speed through.

By 7.41 am, the team took off in a private flight and landed at Mumbai’s domestic airport at 8.49am. An ambulance, which was kept on standby for swift transfer of the heart, left the airport at 8.51 am and reached Fortis Hospital, Mulund, at 9.07 am. “By 9.08 am, the heart reached the operation theatre and the surgery commenced,” said transplant surgeon Dr Vijay Agarwal.

The surgery continued through afternoon involving combining of arteries, veins with the use of immunosuppresants. “The surgery has been successfully concluded. The patient is now stable and would be kept under observation for the next 48-72 hours,” Agarwal said.

With rising awareness and now a national organ donor registry, officials are hopeful to see a rise in interstate cadaver transplants. “The list of patients with end-stage organ failure in increasing and we hope to steadily progress towards bridging the gap,” said Sujata Patwardhan, secretary at Zonal Transplant Coordination Center (ZTCC).

tabassum.barnagarwala@
expressindia.com