Air ambulance carrying Shibu's heart lands at Ernakulam; surgery to be performed soon at General Hospital

KOCHI: The air ambulance carrying the heart of Shibu, who was confirmed brain dead in Thiruvananthapuram, landed at the Hyatt Ground in Kochi. From here, a team of doctors reached Ernakulam General Hospital with the heart in the ambulance in just four minutes. The ambulance passed through the busy roads of Kochi. The road was completely cleared ahead of this. The ambulance passed through with the escort of a police pilot vehicle. It is reported that the surgery will begin soon.

The air ambulance carrying the heart took off from the Medical College Cricket Ground in Thiruvananthapuram at around 2 pm today. The air ambulance reached the ground at 11.40 am. Later, after the surgery, the heart was taken to the ground in a vehicle of the Kerala State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (K-SOTTO). A Nepalese native, Durga, is receiving Shibu's heart.

Apart from the heart, Shibu's two kidneys, liver, two retinas and skin are also being donated. One kidney and liver were transplanted to a patient at KIMS. The heart valve and retinas will be stored for transplant to patients. Although heart transplants have been performed in the past at Kottayam Medical College Hospital, this is the first time at a district-level hospital. In December last year, the license to perform heart transplants was handed over to Ernakulam General Hospital by K-SOTTO, which coordinates the organ donation process of the state government.

Superintendent Dr Shahirshah informed that all preparations for the surgery have been completed. Durga has been undergoing treatment at the General Hospital for the past six months. The woman is suffering from a heart disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Her mother and sister died of the same disease. Her father had also died earlier. Only her brother is now alive. Durga, who grew up in an orphanage in Nepal, was told about the treatment in Kerala by the Malayali who runs it.