Rahul got operated on at Fortis Malar hospital in Chennai, on March 7. Before the transplant, Rahul and a relative had spent almost nine months in waiting for suitable organ donors.
He's returning to his Jalgaon home after a year of living in Chennai. There are many small changes one goes through over the course of a year. However, 21-year-old Rahul Thakur is a 'changed' man, in a sense; in his chest beats the heart of a 20-year-old, and he breathes 'normally' with the lungs of the same youth. Thanks to the compassion of the mother of the brain dead patient, Rahul can lead a healthy life again, and is the first in Maharashtra to get both these critical organs transplanted.
Rahul got operated on at Fortis Malar hospital in Chennai, on March 7. Before the transplant, Rahul and a relative had spent almost nine months in waiting for suitable organ donors.
Amalner-based Rahul had a hole in his heart since birth. The defect altered the normal flow of blood through his heart, bringing extra blood into his heart's right side, and putting added pressure on his lung blood vessels, leading to breathlessness.
Due to this disorder, his heart's efficiency dropped from 60% to 10-15%. Several parts of his body became swollen, and he was barely able to walk. After exhausting their options in Mumbai, Rahul's family realised that a permanent solution (surgery) was available in Chennai.
The 21-year-old expressed his gratitude to the donor's family, adding: "I was unable to meet them when I was in Chennai, but during my follow up visit after two months, I will make it a point to meet the (donor's) mother."
Rahul said that his life has 'completely' changed. "There's no longer any medical complication or even breathlessness. In fact, I even gained 8kgs," he said.
Now, Rahul says he will pursue the education which was hampered due to his illness. "I will complete my studies in the Arts stream, and also campaign to spread awareness about organ donation," he said.
Rahul got the organ from a 20-year-old brain dead accident victim in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. Fortis Malar hospital staff brought the organs from there, and with help from traffic police of both states, drove back to Chennai in two hours flat.
Dr KR Balakrishnan, director of cardiac sciences, Fortis Malar hospital, said: "He is completely fine now. We are putting him on some medication called immune suppression drugs, which he will need to take for a longer time."
He added, "This is the first inter-state organ transplant where we got two organs – heart and pair of lungs – from one cadaver."
Rahul's uncle, an overjoyed Tushar said: "I have no words to express myself and want to extend my thanks to the family who took a decision to donate their son's organs. Over the past year, we spent nearly Rs19 lakh on his treatment, and are so grateful he is healthy now."
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