The Apollo Group of Hospitals which is a leader in solid organ transplants in India has performed first heart transplant under the Jeevandan programme at its jubilee hills branch in Hyderabad.

This life saving heart transplant operation was performed by a team of specialist doctors led by Dr Vijay Dikshit, chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Apollo Heart Institute in the city.

According to Dr Dikshit, the patient Veer Anjaneyulu, a 19 yr old pharmacy student, resident of Karampuri Mandal, Guntur was suffering from a condition called dilated cardiomyopathy, where the function of heart muscle is severely depressed. All kinds of medical therapy were tried but nothing could relieve his symptoms. He was repeatedly admitted for breathing difficulty and swelling of the body. He was not able to even sit and eat on his own. He was finally diagnosed as having End Stage heart failure and hence advised heart transplant. While waiting for a compatible donor his condition further deteriorated and he was admitted to the ICU multiple times for further management. His kidney, liver and other organs also started failing along with further worsening of cardiac function. He was kept alive with multiple medicines to support his blood pressure and heart function.

Having learned this, the personnel from Jeevandan Project informed the Apollo Hospital about the availability of the heart at another hospital, at the other end of the city. The donor heart was quickly assessed and found that it is suitable for Veer Anjaneyulu the recipient.

A team of cardiac surgeons went to the Hospital where the donor was, harvested the heart and quickly transported it to Apollo Health City, Jubilee Hills where the donor was ready for the transplant surgery. The time taken to harvest the donor heart and transport it to the hospital where the donor is, has a huge impact on the success of heart transplantation surgery.

The Jeevandhan Team and the City Traffic Police supported this process and played a significant role in giving a new lease of life to a 19 year old.

Pre-operative to preparation, the surgical procedure and post-operative management for heart transplantation is complex and demands a high degree of skill, advanced technology and a committed team. Veer Anjaneyulu benefitted from the dedication and commitment of a large team of cardiac surgeons, anaesthesiologists, nurses, technicians and support staff and the post surgery recovery period has been largely uneventful.

Veer Anjaneyulu is now discharged. He is a happy man walking, eating on his own and watching the latest movies. His kidney and liver function have completely recovered.

On this occasion Sangeeta Reddy, MD, Apollo Hospital, congratulated the team for their success and the Apollo Team hopes to continue this endeavour in the future also. The gift of life given by the donor will surely inspire the millions who would like to do the same and provide hope for those who have end stage heart disease in our country. She said, out of the 3500 heart transplants done all over the world, 2500 were done in USA alone this year. In our country heart transplant hasn’t yet taken off, only around 100 or so have been done since 1995 and needs spreading of awareness. She said a heart transplant costs around Rs. 2 crores abroad, but can be done for Rs. 15 lakhs in India.