Surgery completed; Biljith's heart starts beating in 13-year-old girl

KOCHI: The heart of Biljith Biju (18), a resident of Mallussery in Nedumbassery, who died of brain damage following a car accident, will now live through a 13-year-old girl from Kollam. The heart transplant surgery of the 13-year-old girl was completed at Lisie Hospital in Kochi.

The surgery led by Dr. Jose Chacko Periapuram began at 1:30 am after the heart was brought from Angamali Little Flower Hospital. The heart started beating in the child at 3.30 am. Doctors at Lisie Hospital termed the next 48 hours crucial.

Biljith, a first-year student at Adi Shankara Engineering College, Kalady, also donated his kidneys, eyes, small intestine, and liver. The girl's family received the message on Friday at noon to immediately reach the Lisie Hospital for surgery. Initially, the plan was to airlift the child, but due to the delay, it was decided to bring the child on Vande Bharat.

The child, who reached Ernakulam South Railway Station at around 7 pm, was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. The girl had been undergoing treatment for heart problems for the past three years. It was just days before that Kollam hotel owner Isaac George, who was declared brain dead in an accident, donated his organs to six people posthumously.