Marengo CIMS Hospital, Ahmedabad performs the first bloodless heart transplant in Asia

Marengo CIMS Hospital has marked a significant advancement in heart transplants by performing the first bloodless heart transplant in Asia. This surgical procedure pioneers a protocol of goal-directed bleeding management leading to transfusion-free heart transplants.

The surgery was performed on a 52-year-old Indian patient, Mr Chandraprakash Garg, suffering from Ischemic Dilated Cardiomyopathy and end-stage heart failure. The donor was a 33-year-old who lost his life in a road traffic accident.  Surgeries such as high-end heart transplants require a high amount of blood for transfusion as there is a significant amount of blood spillage during the surgical procedure. During high-end surgeries, blood transfusion can lead to potential risks and complications. Blood is also an organ and transfusion is considered to be an organ transplant in itself, to be completely monitored and controlled.

Dr Dhiren Shah, Director, Heart Transplant Program, Dr Dhaval Naik, Heart Transplant Surgeon, Dr Niren Bhavsar, Cardiothoracic Anesthetist, and Dr Chintan Seth, Heart Transplant Anesthetist and Intensivist at Marengo CIMS Hospital Ahmedabad led the team to accomplish the outcomes successfully.

Notably, the patient who underwent this highly innovative protocol therapy was discharged in just nine days, in stark contrast to the conventional heart transplant patient who typically requires 21 to 24 days at the hospital before discharge. With this clinical outcome, Marengo CIMS Hospital will be amongst the top 10 global institutes to perform absolute Zero blood transfusion in a highly complex heart transplant life-saving procedure. Zero transfusion also ensures significant mitigation of short- and long-term transfusion-inflicted complications along with reduced length of stay and overall improvement in clinical outcomes. There are patients with the challenge of their bodies not accepting external blood transfusions. For these patients, allowing no scope for heart transplants with this rarity, this therapy offers significant hope for heart transplantation.

Dr Dhiren Shah, Director – Heart Transplant Program, Marengo CIMS Hospital says, “A blood transfusion-free heart transplant represents a remarkable milestone in cardiac surgeries and showcases the significant strides made in surgical techniques and technology. We are setting up a Hemostasis Center of Excellence by adopting the bloodless heart transplant technique. The most crucial and clinically proven cornerstone of Patient Blood Management (PBM) is Goal-directed bleeding Management (GDBM). With proven accomplishments in Australia, the US, and Europe, the adoption of GDBM ensures a reduction in blood transfusion by up to 90%, overall length of stay by 70%, complications like infections or kidney damage by 70% providing more efficiency to doctors and time for patient management with an overall improvement in patient outcomes.”