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Here's how you can get a free heart transplant

On the occasion of Maharashtra Organ Donation Day on Friday, the Asian Heart hospital announced that it would do its first heart transplant surgery for free. The hospital said the reason for the decision was to push the transplant programme in the state.

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On the occasion of Maharashtra Organ Donation Day on Friday, the Asian Heart hospital announced that it would do its first heart transplant surgery for free. The hospital said the reason for the decision was to push the transplant programme in the state.

According to the Maharashtra health services department, even a decade after seven hospitals in the city were granted permission to conduct heart transplant operation, not a single such surgery has been performed in Mumbai.

If a person suffering from coronary ailments doesn't get relief after angioplasty and bypass, a heart transplant is considered as the only resort. In a transplant case, the heart must be harvested from a brain dead person, after the consent from his/her family.

Dr Vijay D'Silva, medical director of Asian Heart Institute, said they were keen to roll out the programme as soon as possible. "Now, we have decided to go the extra mile. Any cardiologist can send us a patient who is fit for heart transplant. The patient need not pay any money towards the surgery."

The hospital has been trying to conduct a transplant procedure, Dr D'Silva said, adding, "Somehow, the patients didn't match the donor heart. If we can add more patients to the list, the chances of matching will go up."

At present, most heart patients requiring a transplant from Maharashtra head for south, especially Chennai, where there is excellent coordination among all agencies concerned. Recently, Rahul Thakur, a 21-year-old youth from Jalgaon district, underwent a transplant procedure at Fortis Malar hospital in Chennai. Four to five heart patients from Maharashtra fly to Chennai every month for such procedures.

Dr Ajay Chaurasia, head of cardiology department at BYL Nair hospital, welcomed the move by Asian Heart. "Now that we are aware of the initiative, we will refer patients to them. Every year, we come across nearly 50 patients who require a heart transplant." However, he said scores of people live on medication for various reasons. "Some don't want to travel to other states, while some are scared of surgery."

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