Aisha Rashan is 19 years old.
Chennai:
An Indian heart has given new life to a young woman from Karachi, Pakistan, and her family during a transplant at MGM Healthcare in Chennai. And that's only half of this amazing story. Thanks to the city-based Aishwaryan Trust, the surgeon and hospital performed the surgery free of charge.
Ayesha Rashan, a 19-year-old transplant recipient, wants to study fashion design. She said her family could not have afforded the surgery without the support of the trust and doctors in Chennai.
“I feel good after the transplant,” Rashan told NDTV, adding that his mother thanked the doctors, hospital and medical facilities. Rashan's condition is stable and she will be able to return to Pakistan.
Doctors said Rashan was admitted to the hospital with severe heart failure.
After heart failure, she was placed on ECMO. ECMO is a life support machine for people with life-threatening illnesses or injuries that affect heart or lung function.
But then a valve in her heart pump developed a leak, requiring a full heart transplant.
A heart transplant can cost more than 35 million rupees. In Rashan's case, the bill was covered by the doctor and the trust.
Asha and her mother after surgery.
The girl was lucky as the donor heart came from Delhi, said Dr KR Balakrishnan, director (Heart and Lung Transplant Institute) and Dr Suresh Rao, co-director of the Heart and Lung Transplant Institute. told NDTV.
They said Rashan received the heart quickly because there were no competing claims, as foreigners would otherwise not be able to obtain the organ.
“She is like my daughter… every life matters,” the doctors said, stressing that Chennai is a “hub for organ donation and transplant surgery”.
Tamil Nadu is a leader in organ donation and transplantation thanks to proactive efforts decades ago.
In other states, doctors have told the government that some viable organs are being discarded because transplants are too expensive for most people in the country. , called for better policies.
