Ernakulam Gen Hospital sets its 'heart' on another milestone

GH set to create history by becoming first district-level hospital in country to perform heart transplant; procedure likely to be free for at least the first few cases

- ANNA JOSE @Kochi

A district-level hospital that performs open heart surgeries, kidney transplants and more than 1,300 keyhole surgeries may seem a myth.

However, with infrastructure development, team building and resources, the Ernakulam General Hospital (GH) has been achieving milestones one after the other, bringing hope to people in Ernakulam and nearby districts. The GH is set to create history by becoming the first district-level hospital to perform a heart transplant. It will be executed under the heart transplant programme set to be launched this month.

Ernakulam GH became the first general hospital in Kerala to perform an open heart surgery in 2021 and in November 2023, became the first district-level hospital in the country to perform a kidney transplant.

"The heart transplant programme will be launched by April. We have developed our own team to perform the surgery. So far, we have performed five renal transplants. The hospital received the licence from the Kerala State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (K-SOTTO) to perform heart transplant in December 2024," said Dr Shahirsha, the Ernakulam GH superintendent. He said the hospital is planning to perform the heart transplant, which costs around ₹8 lakh to ₹9 lakh, for free for at least the first few cases.

"The patient will have to take care of the follow-up treatment. The programme is being launched with the support of CSR funds of several companies," Dr Shahirsha said.