Mumbai sees 2nd heart transplant in a week, again at Fortis hospital

A 63-year-old BARC scientist's heart is now beating successfully in a 29-year-old man's body after Mulund's Fortis hospital conducted a heart transplant on Friday.

This is the second such transplant conducted in Mumbai in less than a week. After the first heart transplant surgery in 1968 by Dr PK Sen and is team from KEM Hospital, Parel, Mumbai witnessed this year's first on August 3 in Fortis hospital.

In Friday's surgery, the police helped in transporting the heart 19km in 14 minutes after Dr Sanjeev Jadhav, consulting cardiac surgeon from Fortis hospital, harvested the organ.

"The patient is stable and the heart is pumping normally," said Jadhav.

Hospital sources said the scientist, an Anushakti Nagar resident, had met with a road accident on Sunday and was admitted in Vashi's MGM hospital on Tuesday. He was declared brain-dead on Thursday evening. After his family consented to donate his organs, including heart, the Mumbai and Navi Mumbai traffic police were informed at 3.45am of the need of a green corridor. While the traffic police ensured that, doctors at Fortis hospital informed the 29-year-old Kalamboli resident's relatives on the same.

The ambulance carrying the harvested heart left MGM hospital at 10.26am. Fortis hospital doctors confirmed that by 10.45am they had started the surgery.

From creating diversions to clearing the roads of traffic and stalling all signals along the route, the traffic authorities worked in synchronisation to deliver the heart in record time. The route used by the ambulance was Vashi-Thane/Belapur Road-Airoli toll plaza-Fortis hospital.

"The 29-year-old was struggling with dilated cardiac myopathy. He had registered with us for a heart transplant on July 7. On Friday, he was admitted with complete heart failure and was in dire need of a transplant," said a doctor.

Dr Anvay Mulay, chief of cardiac surgery, said, "We have concluded the surgery, which lasted four hours. The patient is under continuous observation for the next 24-48 hours."

The donor's brother, Murli Mohan, said he was a scientific officer and a team member with former president late Dr APJ Kalam during the Pokhran experiment in 1998. "He was crossing the road with his wife on Sunday afternoon when he was hit by a biker. He was taken to Joy hospital and then shifted to MGM hospital, where a brain surgery was done. His condition didn't improve and doctors informed us that he was brain-dead on Thursday."

Mohan said his brother had told his daughter to donate all his organs. "When he was declared brain-dead, we promptly decided to donate his organs. We are happy that our decision has given a new life to six people," he added.