Donor Heart Safely Reached Kochi, Team at Hospital; Surgery to Begin Shortly

Thiruvananthapuram: The heart of a young man who suffered brain death was transported from Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi. The team led by Dr George Valooran departed at 2 in the afternoon via air ambulance and landed in Kochi at 3. From there, the heart was swiftly transported by road ambulance to Kochi General Hospital within minutes.

The donor was Shibu (47), a resident of Chirakkal, Kollam, who suffered brain death in a road accident. The heart transplant surgery will take place at Kochi General Hospital. The heart is being transplanted to Durga, a patient from Nepal currently under treatment at the hospital. Authorities stated that the surgery will commence shortly.

This marks the first heart transplant surgery to be conducted at a district hospital in India. Shibu’s two kidneys, liver, heart, two corneas, skin, heart valve, and corneas are being preserved for transplantation to patients. One kidney and the pancreas could not be used as they were incompatible with the recipients.