Mumbai: 12th heart transplant conducted at Fortis Hospital, Mulund

Mulund: Transplant channel between Indore and Mumbai helped yet another young man get a new lease of life. Mumbai’s twelfth heart transplant was conducted on a 22yr old male recipient from Orissa, suffering from Dilated Cardiomyopathy. Waitlisted for over two months, the recipient was critical and a heart transplant was his only hope. The donor heart was received from a 20yr old male from Indore, who had suffered a head injury during a road traffic accident. Retrieved by Dr Anvay Mulay, Head of Cardiac Transplant Team, Fortis Hospital, Mulund, from the donor at Choitaram Hospital, Indore, the donor heart was transported to Fortis Hospital, Mulund 1hr 56mins covering 546kms.

Commencing its journey from MGM Medical College and Hospital, Indore, where the patient was declared brain dead and the family consented for donation of Heart and Liver; the donor was shifted to Choitaram Hospital, Indore for evaluation and assessment. The donor’s kin consented to donate hism Heart, Liver and Kidneys for a noble cause, saving four precious lives. Dr Anvay Mulay rushed from Mumbai to Choitaram Hospital, to harvest the donor heart which left for its journey to the city at 12.20PM, while the Liver was sent for a deserving recipient at Delhi. The donor heart reached Indore Airport at 12.43PM and was immediately moved into a Jet Airways commercial flight which took off at 12.55PM and landed at Mumbai’s Domestic Airport at 01.53PM. A standby ambulance enabled swift transfer of the donor heart, which reached Fortis Hospital, Mulund at 02.14PM, following the Green Corridor route laid out from Domestic Airport(Gate No. 8) to Military Road - Santacruz Chembur Link Road - Chedda Nagar to Eastern Express Highway - Airoli Junction and finally to Fortis Hospital, Mulund. The donor heart was moved straight to the OT and Dr Anvay Mulay, Head of Cardiac Transplant Team,Fortis Hospital, Mulund, immediately commenced the transplant procedure.

Dr S Narayani, Zonal Director, Fortis Hospital, Mulund said, “This transplant has only been possible due to the support of Dr Sujata Patwardhan, General Secretary ZTCC, Mumbai, Govt. of Maharashtra and Hon. Sanjay Dubey IAS, District Commissioner, Indore who played an instrumental role. Medical teams at Choitaram Hospital, MGM Medical College and Hospital, Indore and Fortis Hospital, Mulund joined hands for transplant coordination. Programs conducted across the country for Doctors, Nursing Home staff, Intensivists and Medical Social Workers to create awareness about the importance of organ donation, has positively helped drive organ donation at a larger scale. We hope that such inspirational stories of young hearts saving young lives give courage to families of brain dead kin to join hand with us”.

This transplant was made possible with support from Airport & Traffic Authorities at both the cities, Jet Airways, Muskaan Trust who helped counsel the donors family, Medical Social Workers and the Medical Teams at all three hospitals who worked relentlessly to make this transplant happen.

Dr Anvay Mulay, Head of Cardiac Transplant Team, Fortis Hospital, Mulund, who conducted the transplant, said, “This is the twelfth heart transplant since we conducted the first here in August last year. These success stories stand as a strong testimony that patients with end stage heart failure now have hope. This young patient is now stable and will be kept under observation for the next 48-72 hours in the ICU. I appreciate the courage the donor’s kin have showed today, they helped save another young life”.