Madurai Man’s Heart Beats for Salem Farmer

Mohana Perumal, a 36-year-old farmer from Salem, who also used to drive a rented auto as a secondary profession, got a new lease on life at Rela Hospital with a successful heart transplant from a brain-dead patient in Madurai.

The heart transplant was performed under the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme. The patient waited for more than 18 months for a perfect match for the transplant. After several unsuccessful attempts for a matching donor, the heart and lung transplant team at Rela Hospital found the match from a brain-dead patient from Rajaji hospital, Madurai.

The 6-hour transplant surgery was performed on 17th November 2022 and the Salem farmer was discharged on December 2nd, 2022. As gratitude and in memory of the organ donor, Rela Hospital along with the recipient’s family planted a sapling on the Rela Hospital premises.

Mohana Perumal was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy seven years ago and had severe ventricular dysfunction. After initial treatment and an 18-month wait, he was given a new lease on life. The heart was harvested from a 27-year-old man from Madurai who had a brain injury due to a road accident and was admitted to the government hospital in Madurai on 14th November 2022.

Declared brain dead by doctors, his family was counselled, and they consented to organ donation. The alert for the heart organ was sent to the Tamil Nadu Organ registry which was later allocated to Rela Hospital as per standard registry protocol.

A team of six Doctors from Rela Hospital led by Dr. Prem Anand John flew into Madurai and retrieved the heart. Under the green corridor and with support of Chennai police, the heart was flown to Chennai airport and transported to Rela Hospital within 80 mins for the heart transplant surgery.

“The history of Mohana Perumal indicates he had heart issues for more than 8 years. Further tests revealed his heart was only 15% functional and a heart transplant was the only lifesaver. This heart condition of Mohana Perumal is quite rare. It affects 8 people out of 100,000 and the survival rates are extremely low- not more than 30% survive one year and nearly 50% lose their life within five years. A transplant is the only solution, not for improving quality of life but for survival,” said Dr. Mohan R, Senior Consultant and Clinical Lead of Cardiothoracic Surgery / Heart and Lung Transplantation, Rela Hospital.