Historic Milestone in Public Healthcare: First Heart Transplant at a District-Level Hospital

Ernakulam General Hospital has created history by successfully performing the first heart transplant surgery in the country at a district-level hospital. The heart of a native from Chirakkara Idavattom in Kollam, who was declared brain-dead in Thiruvananthapuram, gave a new lease of life to a 22-year-old woman from Nepal who was undergoing treatment at Ernakulam General Hospital.

With special permission from the court, Kerala extended compassionate support to the young woman, who was orphaned and destitute. Having lost her mother and sister to a hereditary heart disease, she was brought to Kerala with the assistance of a Malayali running an orphanage, as she could not afford the high cost of treatment. The Ernakulam district administration and healthcare workers worked in close coordination to ensure her survival.

In addition to the heart, other organs of the donor were also donated. Extensive coordination at the government level ensured the safe and timely transportation of the organs. The heart was airlifted from Thiruvananthapuram to Ernakulam in a Home Department helicopter and then transported to the hospital through a specially arranged green corridor, with road clearance provided under the leadership of the Ernakulam district administration and police. K-SOTTO coordinated these complex operations.

This landmark surgery marks a major milestone in the growth of Ernakulam General Hospital. Earlier, the hospital had set national benchmarks by successfully performing the first open-heart valve replacement surgery and kidney transplant surgery among district-level hospitals. The hospital’s steady upgradation to provide advanced and modern medical facilities to the common people stands as a remarkable achievement for the district’s health sector.