In May 2013, a Pakistani National underwent a lifesaving heart transplantation at Fortis Malar Hospital, Chennai. The team of medical experts who performed the operation was led by Dr. K R Balakrishnan, Director, Cardiac Sciences.

Moulana Mohammed Zubair Ashmi, 40, resident of Tehsil Kharian, Pakistan, was suffering from a condition called “Dilated Cardiomyopathy” in which the heart becomes weak, enlarged and cannot pump blood efficiently. Doctors finally diagnosed him as having heart failure and advised his family about heart transplant.

“He had been on medication in Pakistan for more than a year since he was diagnosed with decreased pumping efficiency of the heart of around 10-15 % (normal being 60 percent). When his condition became precarious, he was airlifted from a leading heart hospital in Lahore, Pakistan. Upon his arrival at Fortis Malar, we performed a detailed medical examination, and realised he also had renal failure, had fluid in his lungs and abdomen and was also hepatitis C positive. All this just made his condition extremely difficult to treat” explained Dr. K R Balakrishnan.

Despite being on maximal drugs, his cardiac function was deteriorating, leaving doctors at Fortis Malar with the option of either finding a donor heart urgently or fitting him with an artificial heart implant device.  However, since his right ventricle was severely dysfunctional, long-term artificial heart  pump support  was  ruled out.

Luckily for Zubair, after a wait of approximately 2 months, a suitable Indian donor heart became available even though it was of a different blood group, thanks to the highly efficient organ sharing network system created in the State by the Govt. of Tamil Nadu. Today Zubair is a happy man and is grateful to God that he was lucky. “I already feel I have got a new lease of life,” he said.