CHENNAI: Doctors at MGM Healthcare Hospital performed a heart transplant on a 1.5-year-old child crossing the blood group barrier. The child was suffering from end-stage heart failure and was airlifted from Bulgaria to Chennai.
The baby girl was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy. On the way, over Karachi airspace, the baby suffered a cardiac arrest and was successfully resuscitated. On arrival at the hospital, the baby suffered another cardiac arrest and was resuscitated after 45 minutes.
The baby woke up after 48 hours and was recovering from multiple cardiac arrests. As doctors were deciding to implant an artificial heart pump, news of a donor heart from a two-year-old brain-dead boy of a different blood group from Mumbai came as a relief to the doctors.
The organ was allotted to the baby as there were no other suitable recipients. The organ was transplanted into the baby despite an incompatible blood group and significant dysfunction. The heart was transplanted and was put on ECMO for several days.
The surgery was performed by Dr K R Balakrishnan, director, Institute of Health and Lung Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support and Dr K G Suresh Rao, co-director of the Institute of Heart and Lung Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support, MGM Healthcare Hospital and their team. The transplant was performed in June and the baby is ready for discharge, said a press release.