Heart Transplant Surgery: Pakistani girl gets new life in India

In a heartwarming display of humanity transcending borders, a young girl from Karachi, Pakistan, has been given a new lease on life, courtesy of an Indian heart.

Ayesha Roshan, 19, came to India for the first time in 2019 with a severe heart dysfunction, which eventually led to heart failure. She was on ECMO, a life support system for people with life-threatening ailments or injuries that affect the heart or lungs. However, her heart pump then developed a leak in a valve, necessitating a full heart transplant.

Pakistani girl underwent a full heart transplant. She received a heart from a 69-year-old, brain-dead patient from Delhi. 

The report also mentioned that the heart transplant procedure—over 3.5 million Indian rupees—was borne by the hospital and Chennai-based Aishwaryam Trust.

 The donor heart came from Delhi, and the young girl was lucky, Dr KR Balakrishnan, Director (Institute of Heart and Lung Transplant), and Dr Suresh Rao (Co-Director (Institute of Heart and Lung Transplant) said. 

"She is like my daughter... every life matters," the doctors said, underlining Chennai's status as the "capital of organ donation and transplant surgery".

According to doctors, Ayesha's condition is stable, and she can return to Pakistan.

 The transplant recipient, Ms Roshan wants to study fashion design.

Her family said they could not have afforded the operation without the support of the trust and the Chennai doctors.

"I feel good after the transplant," she said as her mother thanked the doctors, the hospital, and the medical trust.

Tamil Nadu leads in organ donation and transplants, thanks to pro active initiatives decades ago.