Kochi Heart Beats in Chennai, Saves Techie

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Transplant Surgeon Dr C Arumugam, bringing the donor’s heart to Chennai.

A human heart harvested from a 30-year-old brain dead person in Kerala is now beating in the body of a 51-year-old man in Chennai, giving him a new lease of life.

The Chennai recipient, an IT professional was on treatment over the last two years, following a heart failure

The donor in Kerala, who had met with a road accident suffered a “traumatic brain injury” and could not be revived by treatment, said Rela Hospital in Chennai where the transplant was done by a team led by Dr Sandeep Attawar, Director, Organ Transplant.

On the condition of the recipient patient, Dr. C Arumugam, Heart and Lung Transplant Surgeon who flew into Kochi to harvest the organ said “He’s recovering well. He can’t even walk earlier. Now he would be able to. The only thing he should be on medication”.

The harvested heart ought to be transplanted within five hours. In this case it took just an hour and five minutes for the harvested heart to reach the recipient in the neighboring state. The Chennai police had provided a green corridor facilitating the quick movement. “The heart, flown from Kochi was taken from the domestic airport in Chennai to the hospital in five minutes” said a traffic police officer in Chennai’s traffic control room.

Tamil Nadu leads in organ transplant in India. Thanks to its early start and a transparent mechanism put in place by the state, there is a good awareness on organ donation among people.

In this case, it was the Kerala government that initiated the process. It was shared on the national organs programme as there were no takers in the state. The Chennai patient who was already on a priority was allocated the heart, explained Dr C Arumugam.

A heart transplant, experts say could cost between 17 to 20 lakh rupees. The donor heart’s age determines the lifespan of the recipient post-surgery, they clarify.