Asian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), Faridabad announced the launch of a state-of-the-art heart and lung transplant centre in North India in collaboration with MGM Healthcare, Chennai to provide easy and fast organ transplant services in the region.

The programme will help in creating smooth availability of heart and lung transplants in North India besides raising awareness of organ donation in the country.

AIMS chairman and managing director Dr Narendra Kumar Pandey  said, “There is a dearth of organ donation and good quality transplant centres in Northern states which results in either the patients having to travel to South or to procure organs from nearby states for transplantation.” Both the issues result in inconvenience and increased costs to patients. The programme aims to address these issues and provide valuable and actionable solutions for organ transplantation, he added.

Dr KR Balakrishnan, Director, Institute of Heart & Lung Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support, MGM Healthcare, Chennai, said, “Our clinical team at MGM Healthcare has repeatedly manoeuvred difficult conditions to ensure organ transplants are successful and today joining hands with Asian Hospitals will ensure the process is eased further and timely service for many in this region.”

MGM Healthcare director, Dr Prashanth Rajagopalan, on the association with AIMS said, “MGM Healthcare is delighted to be associated with one of the leading hospitals in Delhi to provide heart and lung transplant service under the leadership of Dr K R Balakrishnan and team.

Dr Amit Chaudhary, Associate Director, Cardiothoracic & Vascular Surgery said, “India lags behind several other countries across the globe in terms of access to donated organs. Although there are enough organs available for transplantation, the waiting list for an organ transplant is long due to logistic issues and patients have to wait for their turn. Lack of awareness  about organ donation is cited as one of the greatest roadblocks to organ transplant.”

Dr Suresh Rao KG, co-director of the Institute of Heart and Lung Transplant & Mechanical Circulatory Support, said,  “The MoU with Asian hospitals would increase the collective cause of providing better healthcare facilities in a country that has a high mortality rate due to cardiovascular disease.”

The southern states of India have a significantly higher rate of organ donation as compared to the rest of the country and hence have a number of highly advanced transplant centres dealing with cadaveric organs.