Heart & Lung Transplant in India

HEART FAILURE

Human heart is a pump which beats 70-80 times per minute but can go upto 200 beats per minute. The heart is made of muscle and each time it contracts it is able to pump 60% of the blood from the left ventricle into the aorta. As this muscle becomes weaker due to fat deposits on the heart muscle its capacity to pump the blood reduces from 60%. If this capacity to pump the blood reaches 20% then the patient is termed to be in congestive heart failure. Though there are some medications and lifestyle modifications which can improve the functioning of the heart muscle but if there is no improvement then heart transplant is the only option.

As the heart muscle weakens the heart is not able to pump sufficient blood. The demand for blood is not met by the heart beating for 70-80 times so the heart rate increases to fulfill the demand for blood. When the heart has to beat more number of times every minute then the size of the heart increases and this reduces the capacity to pump blood even more.

Lung Failure

Lungs are meant to get you oxygen which goes with the blood to all the parts of your body and brings carbondioxide from those cells which is exhaled by the lungs. If the lungs are diseased and are not able to give sufficient oxygen to the blood then the person starts gasping and the heart rate also goes up. The lungs can get diseased due to several reasons like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, High Blood Pressure, Smoking, High levels of Pollution, Obesity, Pneumonia etc

HEART & LUNG TRANSPLANT

A simple test like 2-D Echocardiogram can give information about the Ejection Fraction (ability of the heart to pump blood). If the ejection fraction is close to 20% then the person is in heart failure. Some medications are known to improve the heart function but in most of the cases heart transplant surgery is the only option.

Symptoms of Congestive Heart Failure are :

Shortness of Breath
Increased Heart Rate
Swelling in ankles, legs and feet
Rapid Weight Gain due to fluid retention
Persistent Cough or Wheezing

Some people have such severe heart failure that surgery or medications don't help. They may need to have their diseased heart replaced with a healthy donor heart.

Heart transplants can improve the survival and quality of life of some people with severe heart failure. The heart or lung transplant can take place only from a cadaveric donor. People who donate their organs and when such people are declared brain deaad then their heart and lung can be retrieved and transplanted into another person. However, candidates for transplantation often have to wait a long time before a suitable donor heart is found. Some transplant candidates improve during this waiting period through drug treatment or device therapy and can be removed from the transplant waiting list.

COST OF TRANSPLANT

The cost of Heart Transplant Surgery in India is in the range of USD 50000- 75000 and the cost of Lung Transplant Surgery is in the range of 45000-70000 USD. When both the heart and the lung transplant take place at the same time then the cost of the surgery is in the range of USD 90000 - 120000. The patient has to be in the hospital for atleast 30 days under close observation of the transplant team to make sure that all the vital parameters are fine and to prevent the rejection of the transplanted organ.

For receiving heart or lung transplant the patient has to get registered with the hospital and whenever a suitable cadaveric donor is available the hospital will inform the patients as per their order in the registry.

There are many touts in the Indian market who would promise to get you a donor for a price, you must stay clear of such people as this is an illegal act in India and both the recipient and the tout could land in trouble.