By: Vibhuti Pathak
Ayesha Rashan, a 19-year-old girl from Karachi, underwent a life-changing heart transplant at a hospital in Chennai, India. Ayesha had suffered a heart attack leading to heart failure in 2019 and was subsequently admitted to the hospital. After enduring years of waiting, she finally received a new heart on January 31, thanks to the efforts of doctors at MGM Healthcare in Chennai.
“I can finally breathe easy,” Ayesha expressed, her eyes reflecting newfound hope.
The heart transplant became necessary after Ayesha’s health deteriorated in 2023, with the right side of her heart failing alongside an infection. Despite interim measures such as receiving a left ventricular assist device, her condition continued to worsen. Her mother, Sanober Rashan, described the experience as “heart-wrenching.”
In September 2023, Dr. Balakrishnan’s team determined that a heart transplant was Ayesha’s only viable option. The decision was further supported by Dr K G Suresh Rao, co-director at the hospital’s Institute of Heart and Lung Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support, who explained, “A heart is allocated to international patients only when no suitable recipient is found within the country.”
