KOCHI: After a two-year-long wait, 29-year-old Dinil Kumar has got a lease of life due to the kind-heartedness of Jothish and his family. Dinil, a resident of Kodakara, had developed end-stage heart failure due to dilated cardiomyopathy. It was on August 29 a potential donor was identified and heart transplant took place at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) in Kochi.
According to Dr Praveen Varma, Clinical Professor, and Head of the Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery (CVTS), Dinil suffered from a condition in which his heart ventricles became enlarged and could not pump blood, leading to heart failure. “He was on treatment but was going into heart failure despite optimal medication. Hence, he was listed for transplantation more than a year ago. However, due to shortage of organ donors, he had to wait for more than a year for a heart,” said Dr Praveen.
The hospital authorities received the alert for a potential donor in August. It was Jothish, 38, who met with a road accident and was declared brain dead at a private hospital in Kochi. The transplant was done by a team led by Dr Praveen, which included Dr Kirun Gopal, Dr Rajesh Jose and Dr Murukan.
“We consider it as a gift of life. Rather than just burning his body, by this act, he will continue to live on,” said Jithesh, brother of Jothish.
“According to Trivandrum Heart Failure Registry, around 1,205 patients are admitted in a year in a hospital. By closely observing these patients, it is noted that the in-patient hospitality mortality is 8.5 per cent. Most of them ending up with heart failures are dying due to lack of donors,” said Dr Kirun Gopal, Cardiac Surgeon at AIMS.
As per Dr Usha Samuel, nodal officer, regional centre-KNOS (Kerala Network of Organ Sharing), in 2019, 17 donors have come forward while it was just eight in 2018. “While looking at the stats we had a record 75 donors in 2015, but the number has come down due to misinformation spread about organ donation. We are trying to create awareness among people,” said Dr Usha.