Heart knows no border - Indian donor injects new life in Pakistani girl
Ayesha experienced cardiac issue in 2019 and had to ultimately get transplant
(Web Desk) - In an emotional as well as humanitarian gesture, Ayesha Rashid - a 19-year-old Karachi resident - received a life-saving heart transplant in India.
A 69-year old Indian organ donor offered the heart to young Ayesha.
After Ayesha experienced cardiac issue in 2019, her family brought her to India. A renowned cardiac surgeon at the time reportedly recommended a heart transplant, according to news sources in Indian media.
Ayesha was thus put on a waiting list. She was given a left ventricular assist device as a stopgap to help her heart pump blood.
Ayesha flew back home after the procedure, but in 2023, her health deteriorated as her heart began to malfunction on the right side.
In addition, Ayesha’s heart pump had developed a leak. “It was terrible watching my daughter suffer,” recalled her mother, Sanobar. “We reached out to the surgeon and told him we couldn’t afford surgery, but he asked us to come to India."
"We decided to take the risk partly because the condition of the donor's heart was good and partly because we knew this was Ayesha's only chance," explained Dr Suresh Rao KG, co-director at MGM Healthcare's Institute of Heart and Lung Transplant. With her health now stable, Ayesha has been cleared by her medical team and is now able to return home.
VIDEO | 19-year-old Pakistani girl undergoes successful heart transplant surgery in #Chennai.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 26, 2024
"I am feeling fine. I thank (the Indian government) for giving me visa...I got a heart transplant," says Ayesha Rashid, a resident of Karachi, Pakistan.
(Full video available on PTI… pic.twitter.com/bAeNTlkN22
Ayesha's medical team in India said a heart transplant was the only practical way forward.
Following that, she underwent surgery on Jan 31 last and was released from the hospital on April 17. The NGO ‘Aishwarya Trust’ paid Ayesha's medical expenses in addition to contributions from doctors and previous patients.
