Indian donor gives new life to Pakistani teenager

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani teenager, Ayesha Rashan, underwent a life-saving heart transplant surgery in Chennai’s MGM Healthcare, thanks to the generosity of an Indian donor.

Rashan, 19, hailing from Karachi, found herself battling severe heart dysfunction, ultimately leading to heart failure, prompting her journey to India in 2019.

According to NDTV, Rashan, reliant on ECMO life support due to her critical condition, underwent a successful heart transplant after her heart pump experienced valve leakage. The procedure, estimated at over Rs3.5 million, was fully sponsored by MGM Healthcare and the Chennai-based Aishwaryam Trust.

Also read: FIA busts gang involved in illegal kidney transplants

Dr. KR Balakrishnan, Director of the Institute of Heart and Lung Transplant, and Dr. Suresh Rao, Co-Director, responded promptly to Rashan’s urgent case, ensuring immediate access to a heart transplant from a brain-dead 69-year-old donor from Delhi.

Expressing profound gratitude to the Indian government, Rashan and her mother, Sanobar, underscored the dearth of adequate medical facilities in Pakistan. They revealed that Pakistani doctors had informed them of the unavailability of transplant facilities.

Prepared to return to Pakistan, Rashan harbors aspirations of pursuing a career in fashion design.

This heartwarming tale echoes similar instances of cross-border medical cooperation, such as Pakistan’s former field hockey goalkeeper Mansoor Ahmed seeking a heart transplant in India in 2018, after complications arose from implanted pacemakers and stents.