The heartwarming story of a 19-year-old Pakistani girl getting a new lease of life after a successful heart transplant in Karachi/Chennai, India, highlights that borders can be eased for humanitarian purposes and can help hearing patients in the neighboring country. There are also challenges to be faced.
Ayesha Rashan from Karachi undergoes heart transplant surgery at MG Healthcare, Chennai.
After a suitable brain-dead donor became available, she underwent a cardia transplant on January 31, 2024. Following the procedures, she was discharged this month. Dr KR Balakrishnan, chairman of cardiac sciences director of the Institute of Heart N Lung Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support, said Ayesha first came to him in 2019 when she was 14. Was, with severe heart failure and a very poorly functioning heart.“She became very ill and had cardiac arrest and had to be revived with CPR and put on a machine called ECMO to maintain circulation, then we inserted an artificial heart pump at that time and eventually she recovered and was on her way to life.” Went back to the country,” he said. Said.
"Over the next few years, she became ill again because one of her valves started leaking... and she developed severe failure in the right side of her heart and got infections and it became very difficult to treat her in that country," He added.Balakrishnan said that it was very difficult for him to get a visa.
Dr. Balkrishna told Ideas, “His mother is a single mother, she had no money or resources.We had to take care of the entire expenses including frequent hospitalisations."
Ayesha's surgery was done with contributions from Chennai-based NGO Aishwarya Trust and other transplant patients. The transplant was done after receiving a donor organ from a brain-dead elderly man from Delhi.
“The biggest challenge was that there was no money,” he said. The treatment of this condition requires Rs 30 to 40 lakhs."The hospital is a private hospital. And so we had to raise funds through the Trust, through our own resources and generous patients. So it was a big challenge. And these are high-risk procedures where the outcomes cannot be predicted But we had to do it because otherwise, this young girl would not have survived,” he said.Ayesha, who aspires to become a fashion designer, thanked the Indian government for granting her a visa to come to the country for treatment.
Ayesha's mother said that the problem is that Pakistan does not have any such facility.
Ayesha is not the first Pakistani to undergo a heart transplant in India. Muhammad Aamir, whose name has been changed on request, was 37 in 2014 when cardiologists in Karachi told him he was suffering from 'dilated cardiomyopathy', a A disease in which the chambers of the heart expand and the muscles become weak, causing the heart's efficiency to deteriorate. Pumping blood effectively to the rest of the body.
Following the news of Ayesha's successful heart transplant in India, Aamir, now 46, told The News International, "The doctors managed my condition with medication, but they told me that transplant was the only cure.,
"Through online research, I discovered a heart transplant center in Chennai, India, where I received a new heart from an anonymous Indian donor in 2014."Aamir is not alone. Qari Zubair, an Imam from Gujarat, was the first Pakistani to go to Chennai for a heart transplant. Sadly, he developed complications and did not survive.
Preferring to keep personal details private, Aamir said, "As per my knowledge, about six Pakistanis have undergone hearing implants in India."
“I am the longest living person.Four others died after their transplants,” said H. Many transplant and cardiac surgeons cite lack of expertise, high costs, limited post-operative care and shortage of deceased donors as the primary reasons for the absence of a heart transplant program in Pakistan. Cite.
Renowned liver transplant surgeon Dr. Faisal Sau Dar said, "The two main reasons why we do not perform heart transplants are the lack of deceased donors (transplant hearts can only be taken from deceased persons) and lack of expertise."
Dr. Dar, Dean and CEO of Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute and Research Center in Lahore, stressed the importance of raising awareness about organ donation after death to save lives. Renowned cardiac surgeon Dr. Pervez Chaudhary believes That heart transplant will soon become a reality in Pakistan.The report said he has asked officials to define "brain death" in Pakistan to facilitate requests for organ donation from deceased persons. “Although I understand that heart transplantation is complex and expensive, but Traveling to India for such procedures is a huge burden. “I wish we had our own center that offered transplants for free or at affordable rates to save more lives,” he said.''
Ayesha Rashan from Karachi undergoes heart transplant surgery at MG Healthcare, Chennai.
After a suitable brain-dead donor became available, she underwent a cardia transplant on January 31, 2024. Following the procedures, she was discharged this month. Dr KR Balakrishnan, chairman of cardiac sciences director of the Institute of Heart N Lung Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support, said Ayesha first came to him in 2019 when she was 14. Was, with severe heart failure and a very poorly functioning heart.“She became very ill and had cardiac arrest and had to be revived with CPR and put on a machine called ECMO to maintain circulation, then we inserted an artificial heart pump at that time and eventually she recovered and was on her way to life.” Went back to the country,” he said. Said.
"Over the next few years, she became ill again because one of her valves started leaking... and she developed severe failure in the right side of her heart and got infections and it became very difficult to treat her in that country," He added.Balakrishnan said that it was very difficult for him to get a visa.
Dr. Balkrishna told Ideas, “His mother is a single mother, she had no money or resources.We had to take care of the entire expenses including frequent hospitalisations."
Ayesha's surgery was done with contributions from Chennai-based NGO Aishwarya Trust and other transplant patients. The transplant was done after receiving a donor organ from a brain-dead elderly man from Delhi.
“The biggest challenge was that there was no money,” he said. The treatment of this condition requires Rs 30 to 40 lakhs."The hospital is a private hospital. And so we had to raise funds through the Trust, through our own resources and generous patients. So it was a big challenge. And these are high-risk procedures where the outcomes cannot be predicted But we had to do it because otherwise, this young girl would not have survived,” he said.Ayesha, who aspires to become a fashion designer, thanked the Indian government for granting her a visa to come to the country for treatment.
Ayesha's mother said that the problem is that Pakistan does not have any such facility.
Ayesha is not the first Pakistani to undergo a heart transplant in India. Muhammad Aamir, whose name has been changed on request, was 37 in 2014 when cardiologists in Karachi told him he was suffering from 'dilated cardiomyopathy', a A disease in which the chambers of the heart expand and the muscles become weak, causing the heart's efficiency to deteriorate. Pumping blood effectively to the rest of the body.
Following the news of Ayesha's successful heart transplant in India, Aamir, now 46, told The News International, "The doctors managed my condition with medication, but they told me that transplant was the only cure.,
"Through online research, I discovered a heart transplant center in Chennai, India, where I received a new heart from an anonymous Indian donor in 2014."Aamir is not alone. Qari Zubair, an Imam from Gujarat, was the first Pakistani to go to Chennai for a heart transplant. Sadly, he developed complications and did not survive.
Preferring to keep personal details private, Aamir said, "As per my knowledge, about six Pakistanis have undergone hearing implants in India."
“I am the longest living person.Four others died after their transplants,” said H. Many transplant and cardiac surgeons cite lack of expertise, high costs, limited post-operative care and shortage of deceased donors as the primary reasons for the absence of a heart transplant program in Pakistan. Cite.
Renowned liver transplant surgeon Dr. Faisal Sau Dar said, "The two main reasons why we do not perform heart transplants are the lack of deceased donors (transplant hearts can only be taken from deceased persons) and lack of expertise."
Dr. Dar, Dean and CEO of Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute and Research Center in Lahore, stressed the importance of raising awareness about organ donation after death to save lives. Renowned cardiac surgeon Dr. Pervez Chaudhary believes That heart transplant will soon become a reality in Pakistan.The report said he has asked officials to define "brain death" in Pakistan to facilitate requests for organ donation from deceased persons. “Although I understand that heart transplantation is complex and expensive, but Traveling to India for such procedures is a huge burden. “I wish we had our own center that offered transplants for free or at affordable rates to save more lives,” he said.''
