Lord Ganesha Answers Prayers in the form of a New Heart for a Young Boy

Mumbai, September 15, 2024: Ganesh Chaturthi fills Mumbai with renewed hope and a spirit of transformation. This year, a 21-year-old Mumbaikar has more than one reason to celebrate, as he received a donor heart at Fortis Hospital Mulund. The recipient’s family and his doctors have been hoping for a miracle since he was waitlisted for an organ six months ago. The recipient was matched with a 17yr old brain dead donor, allowing him a new lease of life. Fortis Hospital Mulund’s Dr Dhananjay Malankar, Sr. Consultant – Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery, led the surgery on Sept 12^th 2024, with support from Dr Swati Garekar, Sr Consultant-Pediatric Cardiology, Dr Sachin Patil, Dir. PaedCard Anaesthesia & Dr Snehal Kulkarni, Dir-Pediatric Cardiac Sciences.

Over a year ago the recipient was diagnosed with Restrictive Cardiomyopathy, a type of cardiovascular disease where the walls of the heart become rigid and less elastic. This prevents the heart from filling up with blood during its diastolic phase, when the heart is supposed to relax. As a result, the heart struggled to pump blood effectively to the rest of the body. Thus the recipient experienced severe difficulty breathing, struggled with even simple tasks like walking, and was largely confined to the bed. His significant weight loss left his family hoping for a miracle. The generous organ donation from the family of a 17-year-old road traffic accident victim turned out to be that miracle. The donor heart was harvested, from a civic hospital in Navi Mumbai & the journey to bring it to Fortis Hospital Mulund, via a green corridor, started at 6:24 PM, reaching Fortis Hospital Mulund at 6:56 PM, covering 30Kms in just 32 mins.

Talking about the challenges and success of the transplant, Dr Dhananjay Malankar, Sr. Consultant – Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery, Fortis Hospital Mulund, said, “As a result of his condition, the recipients lung pressure was high, and we were expecting the new heart to face difficulties as it had to pump blood against this pressure. We had to use a host of medicines to manage this situation and one of them was nitrous oxide, to release the pressure in the lungs. We had also planned to use an assisted device for the right ventricle which fortunately we did not need, as the pressure gradually came down. He is currently under post-operative care of our team.”

Talking about the transplant, Dr Vishal Beri, Facility Director, Fortis Hospital Mulund, said “This transplant represents not only a new beginning for our patient, but also a milestone in our ongoing commitment to advancing cardiac care and providing hope to those in need. We extend our gratitude to everyone who made this surgery possible, including the clinical & nursing team, Traffic Police, Medical Social Workers, and especially the donor family.Organ donation is the most selfless act and the donor’s gift of life reminds us of the invaluable impact the family’s decision had on saving and improving the life of another.”

Corporate Comm India (CCI Newswire)