City hospital sees back-to-back heart transplants amid third wave

Even though the pandemic has badly affected organ donations and transplants, two back-to-back heart transplants were successfully carried out at Manipal Hospitals, Old Airport Road, last month.

The first patient was a 42-year-old man suffering from heart rhythm problems and low heart functioning. The second was a 32-year-old patient ailing from cardiomyopathy and with a history of myocardial infarction, a condition due to which blood flow is significantly reduced to the heart muscles.

“Although the first patient developed an acute kidney complication after the surgery, it was soon managed by the medical team. Both patients were discharged three to four weeks after surgery and are recovering well,” said Dr Devananda N S, Head and Consultant, Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery, Heart and Lung Transplant Surgery, at the hospital.

He added that more than the surgery, managing other related aspects was harder.

“Several of our staff members tested positive for Covid during the third wave and we had to ensure the donor did not turn positive, he said.

There were also logistical problems such as setting up a green (traffic-free) corridor by coordinating with government agencies and ambulances and bringing the patients to the hospital amid the restrictions, he added.

“It was a race against time,” he said. “The golden hour in any heart transplant will be only four hours. The heart has to be harvested, transported and transplanted within this short time,” Dr Devananda explained.

Poor donor awareness

There is also the problem of poor donor awareness.

While heart transplant rates have significantly improved in Karnataka as per government data, the state still lags behind Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. “People donate corneas but they are sceptical about donating other organs. The medical team should play a big role here by gently proposing donations to the family or by bringing Jeevasarthakathe into the picture,” Dr Devananda said. “Not a single organ should be wasted.”

Jeevasarthakathe is the state government agency that oversees cadaver (deceased) transplants.

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