First heart transplant at Guntur

Guntur: The first heart transplant surgery in a state-run facility in Andhra Pradesh was performed at the Government General Hospital at Guntur on Friday, the climax of quick work by doctors at mangalagiri and Guntur, Jeevandaan volunteers and the police.

Doctors at the NRI General Hospital, Mangalagiri, harvested the heart of I. Yedukondalu, 42, of Vijayawada, who had been declared brain dead earler in the day. The heart was rushed in 15 minutes to the GGH, Guntur, after the police cleared the roads of all traffic, creating a green channel between the two hospitals.

The heart reached the GGH, Guntur, where a team of doctors led by well-known cardiothora-cic surgeon Dr A.Gopala Krishna Gokhale transplanted the heart to U. Yedukondalu, 38, of Guntur.

The transplantation surgery took six hours and Mr U. Yedukondalu has been placed in observation for three days.

The donor, I. Yedukondalu of Ajit Singh Nagar in Vijayawada, was severely injured in a road accident on May 13. His condition did not improve and he was declared brain dead by doctors at the NRI General Hospital at Mangalagiri on May 19.

Following counselling by volunteers of Jeevandan, the governmentrun organ donation scheme, relatives agreed to donate his vital organs. Apart from his heart, the family also donated I. Yedukondali’s kidneys, eyes and liver.

Police cleared the Mangalagiri-Guntur road of traffic to facilitate quick transport of the donated heart from to the GGH. The traffic on the Vijayawada-Chennai nati-onal highway till Peda Kakani and on to Guntur was cleared for the purpose

Speaking after the transplant, Dr Gokhale recalled that he was an alumni of the Guntur Medical College and was happy to serve the hospital where he had studied.

He said doctors had been preparing for the live heart transplantation for the last few days but were waiting for a donor heart. He praised the family of I. Yedukondalu for donating his organs.

The family of Mr U. Yedukondalu said he had started treatment at a private hospital at Guntur two years ago but he was referred to other hospitals. The family took him to Hyderabad where doctors suggested heart transplantation.

His wife, Ms U. Rupa, said that her husband used to worked as a taxi driver but had become very weak over the past year. The family has three children.

She said that she had come to the GGH after hearing of Dr Gokhale’s work. She was thankful to the family of I. Yedukondalu who gave her husband a new lease of life.