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How collective support helped Thane autorickshaw driver return to the road with new heart

The heart transplant was performed at Mumbai’s Dr L H Hiranandani Hospital on December 26, by a team led by Dr Pravin Kulkarni, Director, Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery.

3 min readPuneUpdated: Jan 22, 2026 07:07 PM IST

The heart transplant was performed at Mumbai’s Dr L H Hiranandani Hospital on December 26, by a team led by Dr Pravin Kulkarni, Director, Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery.

Sixty-year-old Javed Padvekar was alarmed when a nagging chest pain turned out to be life-threatening. For the Thane-based autorickshaw driver and his family, a diagnosis of end-stage heart disease was shattering. With minimal daily earnings of Rs 600-700, access to treatment seemed impossible.

Yet, a month later, a successful heart transplant has given Padvekar a second chance at life. His recovery stands as a fitting example of how institutional support, community participation, and philanthropy can help a family in need.

The heart transplant was performed at Mumbai’s Dr L H Hiranandani Hospital on December 26, by a team led by Dr Pravin Kulkarni, Director, Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery.

Dr Kulkarni told The Indian Express that Padvekar had a low ejection fraction (heart struggles to provide sufficient blood to the body) and had been suffering for quite some time. “We put him on the transplant list so that eventually he would be able to earn his daily living. We also took into account his socio-economic condition,” he said. “It was the first heart transplant for our institute, while altogether our team has done 16 transplants,” he added.

For Padvekar, the initial diagnosis by a local doctor that he would only be able to survive for three or four months, as the pumping power of his heart had significantly reduced, was devastating, as his family depended on him. “Fortunately, some doctors helped us get an appointment with the heart transplant team,” he told The Indian Express.

Three months after registering for a heart, the hospital team connected with Padvekar as a donor heart was available through the Zonal Transplant Coordination Centre from a 38-year-old brain-dead woman donor at Mahaveer Jain Hospital.

Soon, help poured in from the Chief Minister’s Medical Relief Fund, the Maharashtra government, Tata Trusts, Shri Siddhivinayak Trust in Mumbai, crowdfunding platform ImpactGuru, etc, towards the transplant cost, approximately Rs 20 lakh.

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“The addition of heart transplantation services significantly strengthens the clinical depth of the Cardiac Centre of Excellence,” Dr Sameer Kulkarni, Chief Executive Officer, Dr L H Hiranandani Hospital, said.

Dr. A.V Ganesh Kumar, Director – Cardiology, Dr. L. H. Hiranandani Hospital, said, “Performing a heart transplant requires extensive planning and specialised expertise. These outcomes reflect our focus on safety, evidence-based care, and long-term patient well-being.”

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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