On August 27, 2020, doctors at MGM Healthcare a private hospital in Chennai successfully performed Asia’s first lung transplant surgery on a Covid-19 survivor who had developed coronavirus related fibrosis. The lungs for the transplant came from a brain dead donor at Chennai’s Gleneagles Global Hospital. The donor’s heart was also given to another recipient at the same hospital. The surgery was performed by a team of doctors, led by Dr K.R. Balakrishnan, the chairman and Director of heart and lung transplant programme at the MGM Healthcare.
The patient had contracted Covid-19 on June 8, 2020 and his lungs were badly affected. In July, he was airlifted to Chennai on ventilatory support and put on ECMO treatment.
Covid-19 has taken thousands of life in India and according to health authorities, in many cases, the loss of life is due to delayed reporting by which time the lungs have suffered a lot of damage. In this situation lung transplant may well be the answer to saving the lives of many Covid survivors whose lungs have developed fibrosis, a chronic condition that makes them a respiratory cripple. In the recent weeks, there has also been growing evidence of Covid-19 survivors reporting symptoms of lung fibrosis and cardiovascular problems, besides extreme fatigue, brain fog and giddiness, leaving them debilitated and vulnerable to strokes.