After he was declared brain-dead at AKG Hospital in Kannur on Thursday, 26-year-old Vijesh Parambath’s heart was harvested, brought to a hospital here, and transplanted in a 54-year-old man from Manjeri in a six-hour procedure on Friday.
Vijesh sustained bullet injuries in the head after being allegedly shot at by hunters. The injuries caused irreversible damage to the brain and Vijesh was on ventilator support. With his family deciding to donate his organs, Vijesh’s eyes, kidneys and heart were harvested for transplantation. While the eyes and kidneys went to recipients at various hospitals, the heart was harvested by a team of cardio-thoracic surgeons from Metro International Cardiac Centre (MICC) in Kozhikode.
It was brought to the hospital and transplanted in the man, who was suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy. He had been rendered jobless because of the malady.
After the transplantation was over around 11.30 a.m., Managing Director and Chief Consultant Cardiologist at MICC P.P. Muhammad Musthafa said the donor’s heart was beating in the recipient. Two hours later, the heart-lung machine was removed and the recipient was completely on the donated heart.
He needed a healthy heart
The cardiologist said the recipient was in dire need of a healthy heart as the one he was born with would not let him live long.
“His original heart had only 15 per cent of the normal pumping capacity. He could not walk even a few paces to the toilet because the heart could not pump the required quantity of blood to various organs. Instead of pumping, his heart only vibrated,” Dr. Musthafa said.
“This is the first heart transplantation in north Kerala,” he said. Dr. Musthafa and cardio-thoracic surgeon V. Nandakumar led the 10-member team that carried out the harvesting and transplantation.
Dilated cardiomyopathy is a condition wherein the left ventricle — the main pumping chamber of the heart — bulges and becomes weak. The problem does not throw up any symptoms early on. But, as it worsens, patients experience severe weariness, irregular heartbeat, and even develop blood clot in arteries. Also, the problem spreads from the left ventricle to the one in the right and also to the atria (the two upper chambers of the heart). Genetic factor, exposure to toxic substance such as lead and mercury, viral or bacterial infection in heart muscle and alcoholism are some of the factors that cause cardiomyopathy.
