The heart of a brain-dead patient from Thiruvananthapuram was flown to Kochi by helicopter on Thursday evening, to be transplanted into an 18-year-old patient here.
The recipient of the heart suffers from dilated cardiomyopathy, and the transplant surgery was under way at Lisie Hospital here a little before 7 p.m. The team performing the surgery is headed by Dr. Jose Chacko Periappuram, cardio thoracic surgeon.
The 18-year-old, a native of Kayamkulam who was being treated at a hospital outside the State, had recently arrived seeking treatment at Lisie Hospital, a hospital spokesperson said. The patient was immediately registered for transplant and did not have to suffer through a long wait, the spokesperson added.
The donor, a 25-year-old native of Kanyakumari, was injured in an accident and was declared brain-dead at KIMS Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, on Wednesday evening. Lisie Hospital was informed of the declaration and the possibility of transplant through the Kerala Network for Organ Sharing (KNOS). A four-member team left for the capital from Kochi at 10 a.m. on Thursday, and the procedure to harvest the heart began around 3 p.m.
This is the third time in around a year that a helicopter rented by the State government is being used to transport a harvested organ for transplant. It was carried out once in May and again in July last year.
The helicopter landed at the Hotel Grand Hyatt helipad at Bolgatty at 6.15 p.m., and the harvested heart was taken to the hospital through a green corridor set up by the police. The ambulance, for which a separate track on the road and police escort were arranged, arrived at the hospital in just 3.5 minutes, said K. Laljy, Assistant Commissioner of Police.