Salem farmer gets heart transplant, new lease of life

CHENNAI: A 36-year-old farmer from Salem Mohana Perumal got a new lease of life at Rela Hospital with a successful heart transplant from a brain-dead patient in Madurai.

The heart transplant was performed under the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme. The team at Rela Hospital found the match from a brain-dead patient from Government Rajaji Hospital, Madurai.

The 6-hour transplant surgery was performed on November 17, 2022 and the Salem farmer was discharged on December 2. The patient was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy seven years ago and had severe ventricular dysfunction. A team of six doctors from Rela Hospital led by Dr Prem Anand John flew to Madurai and retrieved the heart. Under the green corridor and support of Chennai Traffic police, the heart was flown to Chennai airport and transported to Rela Hospital within 80 mins.

“The heart condition of Mohana Perumal is quite rare. It affects 8 people out of 1,00,000 and the survival rates are extremely low- not more than 30 per cent survive one year and nearly 50 per cent lose their life within 5 years,” said Dr Mohan R, Senior Consultant and Clinical Cardiothoracic Surgery/Heart and Lung Transplantation, Rela Hospital.