THOUGHT OF LIFE: Suggestion of treating service as corporate social responsibility has also been made
In order to reduce the cost of a heart transplant procedure, doctors of a Chennai-based hospital have approached the Union health ministry urging it to waive off taxes on air ambulance so that the emergency medical service becomes affordable. Also, they suggested that if private companies bear the expenses of transporting organs from one state to another as corporate social responsibility (CSR), that too would help patients to a great extent.
It's a common knowledge that doctors need to get the organ to a hospital using an air ambulance for a heart transplant procedure. This is primarily because after retrieving the heart from a donor, doctors have to perform the surgery within four hours. A lot of time is saved with the use of air ambulance.
Recently, Maharashtra saw three heart transplant procedures conducted in Mumbai's Fortis Hospital. In one of these cases, the hospital administration used the air ambulance.
According to an expert, because heart transplant procedures are seeing the path of success more and more patients are opting for this surgical method across the country. Experts also feel that five years down the line around 1,000 patients will have gone through this procedure.
Talking to dna, Dr KR Balakrishnan, director of Cardiac Sciences at Fortis Malar Hospital, Chennai, who has done 54 heart transplants, said: "We are working on several options to bring donor hearts from one place to another. Currently, air ambulance is one of the options which is feasible. Because many a time we got the call for a donor heart at odd hours like late in the night when commercial flights are not readily available. To get a donor heart we have to book the air ambulance which is a costly affair. Now, to reduce such costs, we personally met Union health ministry officials and placed our demand of waiving off the taxes on air ambulance."
He added: "We also demanded that the government should treat the service under corporate social responsibility if some corporate companies offer to bear the air ambulance expenses. Currently, there is no clear-cut guidelines. Now, we are hoping that the government comes up with a solution which will eventually help the patients."
Dr Anvay Muly, who conducted three heart transplant surgery in Mumbai, says, "It's a welcome move. Government should seriously give a thought to this demand which could benefit the patients."
Cost of the procedure
Currently, the cost of a heart transplant procedure is between Rs20 and Rs22 lakh. If the air ambulance is used to bring the donor heart from one state to another, then a patient has to shell out Rs5-7 lakh extra. This amount directly goes to the provider of air ambulance service. Recently, Maharashtra saw three heart transplant procedures conducted in Mumbai's Fortis Hospital. In one of these cases, the hospital administration used the air ambulance.
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