Dr Balakrishnan has performed over 500 successful heart and lung transplants in India
Dr KR Balakrishnan, Chairman – Cardiac Sciences, Director – Institute of Heart and Lung Transplant & Mechanical Circulatory Support, MGM Healthcare and his team were felicitated by Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways of India in the presence of Thiru Ma Subramanian, Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Government of Tamil Nadu, for having performed over 500 heart and lung transplants successfully in India and running the largest adult and paediatric heart transplant program in India.
On the occasion, Gadkari also unveiled India’s first ‘prototype’ drone technology co-created by MGM Healthcare, aimed at revolutionising last-mile transportation of organs for transplants. Subramanian commended the prototype and said that this would pave the way for more lives to be saved and ensured all support to make it operational soon. He further added, “Chennai and MGM Healthcare is a frontrunner in the organ transplant programme and is at par with the very best in the world today”.
Dr Balakrishnan said, “We have completed 514 heart and lung transplants including over 200 transplants over the last two years despite lockdowns and the covid pandemic and this was possible due to the tremendous support and expertise of the team, the government bodies and transport teams. The infrastructure and support by MGM Healthcare also helped us treat over 350 ECMO patients which is once again the highest in the country. We have also performed over 100 paediatric transplants and over 4600 interventional cases, free of cost in association with Aishwarya Trust – ‘Caring for Little Hearts’ and completed over 220 procedures under the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s scheme.'”
Dr Suresh Rao, Co-Director, Institute of Heart and Lung Transplant & Mechanical Circulatory Support, MGM Healthcare added, “Running India’s largest heart and lung transplant program is made possible by the dedicated efforts of Dr Balakrishnan and our team’s expertise in the domain as well as in mechanical circulatory support programme.”
Dr Ravikumar R, Sr Consultant & Associate Clinical Lead -Cardiology & Heart Failure Program, MGM Healthcare said, “Heart failure is an under-recognised problem in India. The quality of life and longevity of end-stage heart failure patients not responding to conventional therapy can be improved by advanced procedures like heart transplant and Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD).”
Dr Prashanth Rajagopalan, Director, MGM Healthcare said, “A milestone like this gives us the chance to look back on the efforts of the transplant team. Today, patients from different countries are coming to India for treatment in large numbers. With this remarkable achievement, we are further committed to making India a Global medical hub by investing in the latest technologies, and best clinical talent for better clinical outcomes.”
MGM Healthcare further took the opportunity to felicitate those who have been associated with the organ transportation program, including airport authorities, police personnel, air ambulance team, fund-raising agencies, hospital transplant authorities, Government licensing authorities, NOTO Chief and medical assistants.
