- Experts say the issue is a complete absence of organ donation in the country.
- Patients traveling to India due to the absence of transplant services in Pakistan.
- India has created transplant system converted through comprehensive awareness campaigns.
Islamabad: Two young Pakistanis are once again forced to go on a desperate journey for India for life-saving heart transplant with hearts and broken hopes, because their own country is unable to give them a second chance, Reports Informed
A 21 -year -old computer science student from Sialkot, Iman Taufiq and 25 -year -old Asad Ali from Karachi (changed on request) are battling a thin cardiomyopathy, which is a serious form of heart failure.
Despite Pakistan’s world -class heart surgeon and state -of -the -art medical facilities, heart transplant is impossible due to the absence of the dead organ donation system.
Legal structures exist, but deep roots, cultural and religious beliefs prevent families from allowing orbal to be harvested from brain-loving patients.
As a result, people who can tolerate it – or they are desperate enough to sell their property – are struggling to secure the Indian visa and increase to $ 150,000 for a transplant.
Iman is one of the lucky people who received a six -month -old Indian visa for treatment in Chennai, but now their father, Muhammad Taufik, faces a monopolized challenge to arrange money.
He said, “I spent five years to get a visa for my daughter, and now we need at least $ 100,000 to $ 150,000 to proceed with transplantation.” “I have already sold everything I could, but I still need about 20 million rupees. I appeal to Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, and philanthropists to help us. ,
Asad, also diagnosed with the same situation, is struggling to arrange the necessary funds. His family, like many other people, is left wondering why the heart transplant reaches Pakistan.
According to experts, this issue is not a lack of medical expertise, but a complete absence of organ donation. Faisal Abdullah Malik, the recipient of Pakistan’s longest heart transplant, already knows this struggle.
In 2015, he traveled to Chennai, where he got a donor heart from an Indian citizen – he gave him a decade life.
“In Pakistan, we have some best cardiac surgeons, but they cannot perform heart transplant because no one donates organs after death,” he said. “Every year, hundreds of patients die waiting for a transplant, just because we do not have organ donation culture.”
In contrast, India has created a prosperous transplant system through comprehensive awareness campaigns. The Transplant Authority (Transstone) operated by the Tamil Nadu state has provided more than 600 heart and lung transplantation by promoting public vows and coordinating organ recreation from brain-looked patients.
Dr. Kralakrishnan, Indian surgeons who have performed many of these transplants – including Pakistani patients – believe that Pakistan can achieve the same success if a structured donation program is implemented.
“There is expertise. What is missing is a system that supports heart transplantation, ”he said.
Pakistan’s federal Sharia court ruled in 2009 that organ donation is permissible in Islam, and the human organ transplant authority (HOTA) was established to regulate the transplant.
However, the hospitals rarely report brain-urged patients for the recovery of the limb, and family often denies consent, even if it can save the lives of many people.
The results have been destructive. In 2018, legendary Pakistani hockey goalkeeper Mansoor Ahmed Khan died of thin cardiomyopathy after failing to secure a transplant.
Famous Pakistani-American Cardiac Surgeon Dr. Parvaz Chaudhary had offered a temporary heart failure solution to transplant a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), but it was not enough to save his life.
Dr. Chaudhary has long pushed for a heart transplant program in Pakistan. “I have demonstrated over 71 heart and lung implants abroad and trained for this process in the US,” he said.
He said: “I started a LVAD program in Nicvd Karachi – first step towards heart transplant – but it never became physical.”
A decade ago, the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC) announced transplant programs, but no procedure was ever done.
Experts have warned that Pakistan will continue to lose life unnecessarily, without an immediate change in the public attitude towards organ donation.
Faisal Abdullah Malik said, “If the families of brain-looked patients allow donations, then we can save the lives of hundreds of people every year.” “This is the best form of charity, a true ‘Sadka Zariya’.”
As Iman and Assad are ready for their desperate journey for Chennai, the question is: Should more Pakistanis leave or die before living their own country?
