Thrissur: Mathew Achadan, Kerala's first air ambulance-assisted heart transplant patient, passed away at his house in Chalakudy on Monday, 10 years after the landmark surgery.
Achadan, 57, was working as an autorickshaw driver until a couple of days before his death. The donated heart belonged to Neelakanda Sharma, a lawyer from Thiruvananthapuram, who was declared brain-dead in 2015 while undergoing treatment at the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences in Thiruvananthapuram, following a fall in the bathroom. The heart was transported from Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi in a Dornier aircraft of the Indian Navy.
At that time, Achadan was undergoing treatment at Lissie Hospital in Kochi for dilated cardiomyopathy, and doctors determined that a heart transplant was the only option to save his life. When Sharma's family showed willingness to donate his heart, the next challenge was transporting it to Kochi. Doctors had only a window of four hours for harvesting the heart from the donor, transporting it, and implanting it in the recipient. Transporting the heart by road was not feasible. The Navy agreed to airlift the heart from Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi following the intervention of the government led by late Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.
The surgery, conducted by a team of doctors led by Dr. Jose Chacko Periappuram, was successful. Achadan was on regular follow-up and remained in good health, hospital sources said. He underwent check-ups as recently as last month, and all his parameters were fine, Dr. Periappuram told TOI.
"We don't know what went wrong. There are possibilities of diminishing chances of survival as the years pass by. But that he could lead a quality life for a span of ten years is certainly gratifying," he said.
This successful transplantation was also a testament to the secular moorings of the state, apart from its progress in the medical field. While Sharma's family was praying to Swami Ayyappan during the surgeries, Achadan's family offered prayers to Jesus Christ. Moreover, the expenses for Achadan's treatment, who came from a poor background, were covered by a Muslim — the head of the Eram Group of companies, Dr. Siddeek Ahmed, Dr. Periappuram said.
Achadan's successful transplant served as an inspiration for many to donate organs. After his surgery, eight heart transplants that relied on air ambulances were conducted in the state, said Kerala State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (K-Sotto) Executive Director Dr. Noble Gracious. Currently, 16 hospitals, including four from the public sector, in the state have been granted permission to carry out organ transplants. The transportation of harvested organs to the center where the recipient is being treated is done by the government free of cost, Dr. Gracious added.
Achadan is survived by his wife Bindu, and children Amal and Anna, both of whom are settled abroad. The body is being kept in the mortuary of St. James Hospital, Chalakudy, and the last rites will be performed after the children return.
