Raj farmer gets new lease of life after heart transplant

A 40-year-old farmer got a new lease of life after he recently underwent the "first" cadaver heart transplant surgery at Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Hospital here.

The heart of a man, identified as Raju, was transplanted into Surajbhan on August 2. He was discharged from the hospital today.

"I am indebted to everyone... I promise that if required either me or a member of my family will donate our organs in the future," Surajbhan said during a press conference here.

The hospital's chief heart surgeon M A Chisti said the patient was suffering from Rheumatic Fever and also had a defect in the heart valve, which had been replaced earlier.
 

"The patient's heart had lost strength due to which heart transplantation was required," he said.

M L Swarankar, Chairman of Mahatma Gandhi University of Medical Sciences and Technology, said the hospital bore the cost of the surgery as such a kind of operation was being carried out for the "first" time in the state.