A Pakistani adolescent who flew from Karachi to Chennai, India, for a heart transplant is now being monitored at MGM Healthcare.
At the age of 14, Ayesha Rashid, now 19 years old, was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, a disorder characterized by an enlarged left ventricle, the heart’s main pumping chamber.
Ayesha’s left ventricle assist device (LVAD) was initially installed in her heart by a team under the direction of Dr. KR Balakrishnan, but the device malfunctioned and caused an infection, according to accounts in Indian media.
The team then completed a heart transplant utilizing a donor heart that was brought from Delhi which belonged to a 69-year-old Indian patient who was brain-dead.
This touching tale demonstrates how barriers can be removed to provide healthcare and give people a second chance at life. It also draws attention to the difficulties Pakistani cardiac transplant centers face.
Speaking to ANI, Dr. Balakrishnan stated: “Managing patients with artificial heart pumps is not straightforward in that nation (Pakistan) because the necessary monitoring equipment is not available. They also lacked money. Ayesha got a severe infection, and she was unconscious for half of the time. We have to take some action to assist.
“She arrived here with little money and obtained the visa with tremendous difficulty. All the costs have to be covered by us. In addition, After a few months, we received a heart donor from Delhi that nobody else wanted, and she had a heart transplant. Given that it came from an older donor and that she had to have her chest remain open for nearly ten days, the heart was quite large for her,” the doctor went on.
Ayesha is now fully recovered, according to Dr. Balakrishnan, and is prepared to return home. She needs to receive immunosuppressive therapy for the rest of her life, he continued.
