Lucknow: UP’s first cardiac transplant undertaken by a team of doctors at SGPGIMS on April 11 was officially declared “successful” as the institute discharged the recipient, Rachna Agnihotri, on Saturday.A native of Sitapur’s Chandanpara village, the patient went back walking on her feet without losing a single breath – something which she had almost forgotten in the past six years of her disease.She got the heart from a donor in RML Hospital, New Delhi, whose family gave away kidneys and liver too.In the last leg of her second pregnancy, Rachna developed a cardiac ailment called peri partum cardiomyopathy in which the heart’s pumping capacity gets compromised.While in most patients, medicines help but in some rare cases the problem persists.Battling with breathing difficulty, swelling, fatigue, wheezing and other things for five years, Rachna had accepted that “death was inevitable”.In Jan 2025, she approached cardiologist Dr Roopali Khanna’s OPD who tried to help her with available line of treatment with cardiac transplant being the final option.The doctor convinced Rachna to take the leap of faith and go in for the transplant. Now, after the procedure, Rachna is filled with gratitude.“I can’t wait to see my daughters who are just 11 and six years old,” she said.Her husband, Ajay Kumar, a farmer, termed the journey a miracle. “She was reluctant for the procedure. She asked me to save money for daughters. But the doctor’s counselling and everyone’s contribution became her ‘sanjeevani’ (elixir),” he said.Head, cardiac transplant programme, Prof SK Agarwal said: “This success will not be a one-off thing. The institute has drafted its SOP for future transplants. At least nine possible recipients have been worked up in case they receive a heart soon.”Director, SGPGIMS, Prof Radha Krishan Dhiman said that the two clear goals were on board.“With a functional apex trauma centre, we now intend to boost cadaveric donations and organ retrieval. Lung transplant is another aspiration waiting to happen. To elevate coordination with other centres, we are working to revive our helipad project.”Additional chief secretary, medical health, Amit Kumar Ghosh reaffirmed govt’s commitment to advancing multi-organ transplant programmes and emphasized the importance of optimal resource planning to ensure accessible, high-quality care for all patients.The institute felicitated all 57 people from across departments including those in the lead role (cardiothoracic surgery, interventional cardiology, anaesthesia) and administrative units involved in making the transplant a success.Even those in the supporting role (nephrology, diagnostics, infection control, and nutrition) worked continuously making sure that the patient’s body doesn’t reject the new heart.On one occasion, she developed a renal issue which was dealt by the nephrology department. The patient family was counselled every day to make sure that they are ready to carry out their responsibility at home.Dr Dhiman said that SGPGI bore the entire cost of the transplant and credited the finance team for working tirelessly on a holiday (transplant took place on Sunday).“An estimated Rs 15 lakh has been spent on the transplant. Of this, Rs 9 lakh went in transportation while the remaining was the cost of medical procedure,” he said, adding, “the expenditure is about 70-80% less than that in private sector.”
