Hospital has written to the state government seeking permission to start heart transplant facility
KEM hospital aims to provide low-cost treatment to patients who need heart transplants. File Pic
Considering the increasing cases of heart-related diseases and the high cost of treatment, the KEM hospital will soon start a first-of-its-kind clinic on the premises for patients with heart failure.
The administration has also written to the state health department seeking permission to start a heart transplant facility which would help save hundreds of lives for a very small fee. The surgery will be free of cost and the patients will have to pay only for medicines and lab tests.
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One heart transplant surgery in private hospitals cost around Rs 25-30 lakh, which poor people cannot afford. Niddhi Rao, a 23-year-old heart patient undergoing treatment at KEM hospital, needs a heart transplant, but her family can't afford to pay for the surgery. The hospital is awaiting a response from the government on its letter, sent last month, so Rao can avail the low-cost treatment at KEM.
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In the meantime, the hospital administration has decided to maintain a record of patients who need heart transplant at the clinic for heart failure patients. The clinic will be set up under the supervision of cardiology and cardiac surgery departments.
"We are waiting a positive response from the state government but until then, we will start setting up the clinic which will help maintain a record of the patients in need for a heart transplant. So, once we get the final approval, we can start the surgery in our facility," said Dr Hemant Deshmukh, dean of the hospital.
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