BENGALURU: A 38-year-old man from Bagalkot, who was suffering from a complex heart problem since birth, was close to death, but thanks to a donor and the state government’s organ transplant scheme, he got a new lease of life.
Dr Shashiraj S, lead consultant for Pediatric and Adult Congenital Heart Diseases, Narayana Health City, said, “The patient was suffering from corrected transposition of great arteries (CCPGA) and severe bi-ventricular dysfunction which slowly led to class IV heart failure. CCPGA is a rare congenital heart defect in which the heart twists abnormally during fetal development and the ventricles are reversed. The patient came to me last year. I was trying to treat him with medicines, but his condition kept worsening, he couldn’t even move and also had breathing problem. He needed a donor at the earliest.”
The heart, harvested from a 28-year-old donor from Mysuru, was transported by creating a green corridor and the surgery was performed on August 16. The patient is currently recovering.
Not only did the transplant save his life, but he also turned out to be the first patient from Bengaluru to have undergone a heart transplant under the organ transplant scheme. The scheme is applicable only for the those below poverty line. The state government had sanctioned `30 crore for organ transplantation for poor patients.