Heart transplant saves young engineer

A team of specialists at Apollo Hospitals led by Dr Alla Gopala Krishna Gokhale, Senior Heart and Lung Transplant Surgeon performed a heart transplant on a 36-year-old man suffering from a terminally ill heart condition called as dilated cardiomyopathy.

The recipient V Naveen Kumar, a software engineer by profession and resident of Hyderabad had to quit his job a year back after being diagnosed with the disease. In addition, his condition worsened with liver and kidney parameters sliding down. This surgery was done in February and the patient has recovered well, informed the team of doctors on Friday.

Speaking on the prevalence of heart transplants, Dr Gokhale said, “Heart transplant is a rare operation done for end-stage heart failure. So far in India, only a little over 250 heart transplants are done. Unlike kidney and liver transplantations, awareness about heart transplantation is dismal and many a times donated hearts are going waste.”

“Around one lakh patients need heart transplant and 70,000 to 80,000 cadaver hearts are available every year, but due to sheer lack of awareness amongst the public and doctor community, this State could perform just 21 heart transplants till date. Funding is not an issue; governments are coming forward to bear the cost for poor, awareness is the issue,” he added.