Hyderabad: A patient, who underwent a heart transplant recently, said he had all but given up hope of survival and was counting his last days when a miracle changed his life. Singareddy Kanakareddy, 44, who got a donor heart transported via the Metro Rail, was discharged from hospital on Monday.
Kanakareddy was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy in December last year. He suffered from breathlessness, panting. “The doctors asked me to get myself registered in Jeevandhan because I desperately needed a heart transplant to survive.”
“Even after that, the doctors gave me a 50% chance of survival, as most of my organs were not functioning fully and asked me to take a call on undergoing the surgery,” said Kanakareddy.
The heart transplant was performed earlier this month, with the heart of a man found to be brain dead transported through Hyderabad Metro Rail. For the first time in Hyderabad, metro rail was used to transport an organ on February 2. A green corridor was specially created by Hyderabad Metro Rail and Hyderabad traffic police for the heart to reach Apollo Hospitals at Jubilee Hills from Kamineni Hospital at LB Nagar.
“I was blissfully unaware of what was happening around me to save my life. I only got to know about all the extra effort put in by the doctors, Metro rail authorities, and the traffic police to transport the donor’s heart, a couple of days ago when a friend narrated the story to me. I am really thankful to everyone, especially Dr. Gokhale,” he said.
Dr. Alla Gopala Krishna Gokhale, senior consultant, Heart, and Lung Transplant Surgeon, Apollo Hospitals said the speedy transportation of the heart by a Metro train during peak traffic hour played a critical role and aided in the overall success of the surgery.