Chennai doctors perform double lung transplant amid COVID-19 pandemic

In a first, the doctors at Apollo hospital in Chennai performed a double lung transplant amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The patient was put on EMCO for 46 days till a suitable donor was arranged and the patient was discharged in August.

Chennai: A team of doctors at Apollo Hospital in Chennai successfully performed a double-lung transplant on a 39-year-old patient amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The hospital gave a new lease of life to the patient who was on Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) support for 46 days prior to the successful transplant. The patient, who was admitted to the hospital following an exacerbated lung condition, was put on ECMO till a donor was arranged. The double lung transplant surgery took place successfully on July 29. After a thorough recovery, the transplant recipient was discharged on August 27.

Dr Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “Our transplant program has come a long way since its inception in 1995. This double lung transplant during COVID times is an exemplary achievement and was possible due to our relentless focus on adopting the latest medical advances and technology to reinforce our leadership position in the healthcare space. Our transplant journey has seen numerous milestones and firsts that are testaments to our continuing efforts to be the leader in organ transplant surgery, not just in India but globally."

"From the first successful paediatric liver transplant, first successful adult cadaveric transplant, first successful liver transplant for acute liver failure, first combined liver-kidney and other simultaneous multi-organ transplants, it is a long list. Our transplant team has led the way and laid down new benchmarks for organ transplants in India over the years, and I am sure that they will continue to do so going forward. I am proud to say that today with over 90% success rates for multiple transplants in India, Apollo Hospital's organ transplant centre is a beacon of quality and hope for patients not just from India, but from across the world.”

Preetha Reddy, Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “The successful double lung transplant during the COVID pandemic is a feather in our transplant program’s cap. Since its inception, our organ transplant programme has evolved and expanded, building on the Apollo Group’s talent and infrastructure, to facilitate new locations while continuing to deliver clinical expertise employing state-of-the-art technology. The successful transplant and recovery also bring into focus our pioneering success in the use of ECMO to support the heart and lungs until transplant or recovery."

The successful double lung transplant was a result of the gold standard followed in clinical organ retrieval, preservation and transport with a dedicated team coordinating the complex logistics required to ensure timely transfers. A team was prepared and the transplant surgery performed by some of the finest and experienced transplant surgeons in the country supported by specialists from a variety of fields, transplant coordinators, social workers, psychiatrists and anesthesiologists.

The Apollo Hospital is one of the most known medical institutes for multi-organ transplantation. The team has widened over the years into an interdisciplinary clinical force encompassing cardiologists, pulmonologists, infectious disease experts, critical care doctors, endocrinologists, GI nephrologists with a special interest in transplant medicine and a paramedical group of nurses.

The team specializes in end-stage heart and lung failure both as an outpatient and when patients present in ICU or emergency room as acute problems. The surgical team has assessed 397 patients and transplanted 220 organs (69 hearts and 151 lungs) in 120 patients. The current survival rates are in line with international rates with an 83% long-term survival. Patients are surviving over 10 years post-transplant and doing well currently.

The Heart Transplant program started in Apollo quite soon after the passage of the Transplantation of the Human Organs Act in 1994. The first heart transplant was done on Christmas Eve 1995 and was a great success with the patient being one of the longest survivors of a heart transplant in India. He had a high quality of life for just under 15 years.

A revival of the program was undertaken in 2006 with the establishment of Tamil Nadu state support in 2009 through the establishment of TRANSTAN (Transplant Authority of TN) and subsequent streamlining of organ allocation.

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