Two heart recipients share their heart-touching stories

A heart transplant is not a doctor’s job it is a collective effort.

by Taruni Gandhi - April 25, 2022, 4:32 am

Chandigarh: Doctors of PGIMER do not just stick to the treatment, they walk an extra mile and try to provide a better lifestyle to their’s patients. Mohit, a young lad of 21 years of age with a ‘new heart’ has been working inside PGIMER as an employee after his heart transplant. He is the first such a case who is provided with a job by PGIMER doctors after giving him a new lease of life. Mohit is working in the Biomedical Instruments and Devices Hub of PGIMER as a coordinator.

He was 15 years old when he got transplanted with a Heart by a team of PGIMER doctors. It has been 7 years since Mohit is a successful heart transplant case of PGIMER. Coincidentally, the PGIMER Heart transplant team has successfully done 7 heart transplants.

Mohit is getting his all medicines from PGIMER and so far, he did not have to pay any penny for his treatment, medicines as everything was managed by PGIMER’s poor patient fund, and doctors’ efforts.

PGIMER team led by Prof GD Puri, Head Department of Anesthesia and Dean of PGIMER said, “Heart transplant is not a one doctor job, its teamwork wherein Organ Coordinators, Harvesting team, Cardiac Surgeons, Intensivists, cardiologists all come together to do a Heart transplant. It’s a collective effort”. Heart Transplant Coordinator Head Prof Dr. Saurav Malhotra exhorted further and said, “PGIMER managed to do this whole procedure in Rs 4-5 Lakh whereas in Private setup it may cost a patient Rs 25-45 lakh. We urge people to believe in organ donation”.

Deepak age 28 another case of a Heart transplant cannot thank enough Dr. Saurav and Prof Dr. Shyam Cardiac Surgeon for his new life as he had tried for the same treatment from Delhi where he was asked Rs 25 Lakh which was out of his reach and PGIMER did his heart transplant in mere expenditure. He said happily, “It has been a month since my transplant and I could do 45 minutes of walk without any physical hurdle”.