Pakistani Teenager Receives Life-Saving Heart Transplant in Delhi

A Pakistani teenager with a serious heart ailment has been given a new lease on life thanks to a heart donor from across the border in India.

Nineteen-year-old Ayesha Rashan had struggled with heart disease for a decade.

In 2014, she visited India, where doctors implanted a heart pump to support her failing heart. However, the device eventually failed, and doctors recommended a heart transplant as her only chance for survival.

Ayesha’s family sought help from Dr. KR Balakrishnan and Dr. Suresh Rao at MGM Healthcare Hospital in Chennai.

They confirmed that Ayesha needed a heart transplant urgently as her heart pump had developed a leak, necessitating an Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) procedure.

Despite the life-threatening urgency, Ayesha’s family was initially unable to afford the Rs 35 lakh required for the transplant.

The medical team then connected them with the Aishwaryam Trust, which provided the needed financial assistance.

Six months ago, Ayesha received a heart from Delhi, and the transplant surgery was performed free of cost at MGM Healthcare.

After an 18-month stay in India, she expressed immense gratitude towards the Indian government and her medical team.

Reflecting on the ordeal, Ayesha’s mother, Sanobar, shared that Ayesha was critically ill, with only 10 percent vitality when they arrived in India.

She expressed profound gratitude to India, saying, “To be frank, Pakistan has no good medical facilities when compared to India. I feel India is very friendly. When doctors in Pakistan said that there was no transplant facility available, we approached Dr. KR Balakrishnan. I thank India and the doctors for the treatment.”

Ayesha, now full of hope and dreams of becoming a fashion designer, is a testament to the life-saving power of cross-border medical cooperation.