Seventh heart transplant takes place in Mulund hospital

MUMBAI: A retired businessman in Gujarat gave a new lease of life to a Navi Mumbai resident who became the seventh in the city to undergo a heart transplant on Wednesday. In the third inter-state transplant within a month, the donor heart was flown across 258km from Surat to a Mulund hospital under 85 minutes.
The 45-year-old recipient had been on the waiting list for little over a month and was desperately in need of a heart.He was suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy and had to be frequently hospitalized due to other related health complications. "He was badly in need of a heart. He could barely breathe and even required oxygen support. The organ could not have come at a better time for him," said Dr Anvay Mulay, cardiac transplant surgeon at Fortis Hospital, Mulund.
However, a couple of hours after the transplant, the patient needed further intervention due to internal bleeding. "These are some of the known post-operative complications. Some of these patients can have extremely deranged liver functions and blood coagulation problems that can lead to such problems," said Mulay, adding that the patient's reports were scrutinized every half hour to arrest more issues. Fortis has carried out seven transplants so far, of which five patients are recovering well, while one had suffered immediate rejection and passed away within 24 hours of the surgery in October.
The family of donor Himmatbhai Sawaliya (52) was very forthcoming with the idea of donating the kidneys, liver and heart of their patriarch. While the heart was brought to Mumbai, his kidneys and liver were shared with an Ahmadabad hospital. "The family's consent saved four lives across two cities," said Nilesh Mandelwala from NGO Donate Life that facilitated the organ-sharing.
The deceased had become unconscious at his residence in Surat and later suffered from brain haemorrhage. He was declared brain dead at the Ayush ICU and Multi-specialty Hospital in Surat which set the ball rolling for the transplants. The organ was flown in using a chartered plane and transported to the Mulund hospital through a green corridor.
The Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee (ZTCC) that facilitates the distribution of organs said that the paperwork was seamless unlike the last transplant when the Gujarat government's health officials were hesitant to issue a non-objection certificate to the recipient hospital. "The formation of the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) has brought in a lot of clarity about inter-state organ sharing. There is also a zonal demarcation now. Mumbai and Gujarat, for instance, come under the western zone making it easier to share organs," said a ZTCC member.