Kerala General Hospital Performs India’s First Heart Transplant at District Level
The surgery gave a new lease of life to a 22-year-old woman from Nepal who was seeking treatment for a complicated heart condition
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a historic milestone, Ernakulam General Hospital became the first district-level hospital in the country to perform a heart transplant.
The surgery gave a new lease of life to a 22-year-old woman from Nepal who was seeking treatment for a complicated heart condition. She was diagnosed with cardiac sarcoidosis, a hereditary ailment that had claimed the lives of her mother and sister.
Coming from a poor economic background, she has a younger brother, and with no one to care for them, the siblings were staying in an orphanage run by a Malayali. It was this Malayali who brought them to Ernakulam District Hospital.
The Kerala authorities supported the Nepali woman after receiving permission from the High Court for her heart transplant. The Kerala State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (K-SOTTO) prioritises Indian citizens on the transplant waiting list, which initially caused a delay in sanctioning the procedure.
At that point, the woman approached the Kerala High Court, citing inadequate facilities for organ transplants in Nepal and her family’s inability to seek treatment abroad. Since Kerala was the only affordable option, the family requested assistance. On December 11, the Kerala High Court directed K-SOTTO to treat her case as a priority.
"We are very happy that the heart transplant was carried out successfully here. In Nepal it was impossible for us to get this done. So a doctor advised us to get this done in Kerala," said the younger brother of the heart recipient.
S. Shibhu, who was declared brain dead after a road accident, became the donor. His family consented to donate seven organs. One kidney was transplanted at Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College Hospital, another at Travancore Medical College in Kollam, the liver was donated to KIMS Hospital, and both corneas to the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology.
Health Minister Veena George expressed gratitude to the family for their generous decision to donate their loved one’s organs. She also assured full support to Ernakulam District Hospital for carrying out the transplant.
The Home Department arranged a helicopter to transport the heart to Ernakulam. Following instructions from the Chief Minister's office, the police cleared roads along the routes leading to the hospitals where the transplant procedure took place.
Shibu, 47. whose organs were donated, worked at a hotel in Kazhakkoottam. On December 14, while returning home on a scooter, he met with an accident around 6:30 p.m. He fell from the two-wheeler at Mookkattukunnu in Kollam district.
Doctors declared him brain dead on December 21, after which his family consented to organ donation.
Shibu is survived by his mother, Shakunthala, and his siblings, Shiji S and Saleev S.
