Heart travels 350 kilometres to save Kashmiri woman in MGM Healthcare, Chennai

New Delhi, February 2, 2022: Doctors at the MGM Healthcare Hospital gave a new lease of life to a 33-year-old underprivileged woman from Kashmir by successfully performing a heart transplant surgery.
 
A 33-year-old female hailing from Kashmir who was suffering for 10 years from Restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM), a condition where the chambers of the heart become stiff over time was identified by Aishwarya Trust, which funded her transplant treatment costs at MGM Healthcare Pvt Ltd.
 
The female patient, on medical management with worsening heart failure symptoms required early heart transplantation. Suffering for 10 years the patient registered herself in Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu.
 
With her condition worsening, on December 31, 2021, she was admitted with sign of severe heart failure. Doctors at MGM Healthcare soon treated her with intropes and other medications.
 
On January 26, 2022, a brain-dead donor was available from Star Kims Trichy. The heart was soon rushed to Chennai through a green corridor and a high-risk heart transplantation was carried out to the patient.
 
Post the surgery she was soon shifted to Transplant ICU in a stable condition. She was removed from the ventilator. At present she is Transplant ICU recovering from the surgery, said the doctors at MGM Healthcare.
 
Dr K R Balakrishnan, Director - Institute of Heart and Lung Transplant & Mechanical Circulatory Support of MGM Healthcare who led the surgery lauded the efforts of the victim family who donated the organs for the patient and said that the patient responded well to the treatment, and it was all carried out in record ischemic time with the joint efforts of the entire transplantation team and the top-notch technology.
 
Dr Suresh Rao, Co-Director. Institute of Heart and Lung Transplant & Mechanical Circulatory Support who was also part of the surgery said that the patient was suffering for ten years and was under several medications, however all the efforts came to fruition with the aid of the brain-dead patient.
 
Mrs Chitra Viswanathan, the founder of Aishwarya Trust said, “Shahzadi Fatima, unmarried woman from Kashmir lives with her brother who is a daily wage earner who was not able to meet her medical expenses plus the transplant costs. Seeing the plight of this woman Aishwarya Trust decided to support the entire cost of the transplant at MGM Healthcare. It was a meaningful way for Aishwarya Trust to celebrate Republic Day by funding the lady’s heart transplant on 26th January, 2022.”
 
Mr. Harish Manian, chief executive officer, MGM Healthcare, said, “The success of a transplant surgery relies on the concerted efforts of various healthcare teams that worked together in sync keeping the patient condition on priority. The family that donated the organs to the patient requires to be lauded along with Aishwarya trust that sponsored the treatment and the team of experts at MGM Healthcare.”