A 30-year-old man undergoing treatment for cardiac ailment at the Government Omandurar Multi Superspecialty hospital here recently underwent a heart transplant.
G. Ilayaraja, a resident of Papanasam in Thanjavur district, had been placed in the waiting list for the transplant.
Last week when a 19-year-old youth was declared brain dead, his organs were harvested with the consent of his parents, said Health Minister Ma. Subramanian, who visited the patient on Wednesday.
Mr. Subramanian told reporters that there was a dip in organ transplants across the world in these past two years. Last month, Deans, transplant coordinators, surgeons and senior doctors from district headquarters hospitals held a meeting on improving organ donation, following which the State had resumed transplantation in earnest.
He said last week a heart from a brain dead person in Christian Medical College, Vellore, was brought to Apollo Hospital in the city in 93 minutes and transplanted. He said the hospitals, doctors and the police had come together to enable the transplant, and helped the hospital team including cardiac surgeons, anaesthetists and hospital authorities.
The Minister also said the government had issued over 110 instructions to the Health Department of which 36 pertained to medical colleges. The instructions were about addressing the needs of the people seeking medical treatment for a range of issues including old age, mental ailments, hearing impairment and addiction to the internet, among others.
