Wadia Hospital performs its first paediatric heart transplant, on 17-year-old Tanmay Shinde

The Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children in Mumbai has carried out a heart transplant on a child for the first time. Tanmay Shinde, 17, who lives in Ghansoli, Navi Mumbai, has been given a new lease of life. The surgery was performed on October 6.

Tanmay had severe heart failure caused by dilated cardiomyopathy. In this condition the heart muscles weaken, affecting the heart's ability to pump blood.

It is a major milestone for the charitable hospital, which received a licence for cardiac transplants in 2024. The operation was performed by a team led by paediatric cardiac surgeon Dr Biswa Panda.

Tanmay's illness was diagnosed in December 2015. Despite continued medication and repeated hospital admissions, his condition kept worsening. Over the past year, persistent chest pain, breathlessness and fatigue badly affected his daily life and studies. As a result, he could not sit his Class 12 examination.

Doctors finally decided that a heart transplant was the only suitable treatment option for him. Tanmay received the heart of a 22-year-old brain-dead donor, whose family had agreed to organ donation.

The donor's heart was brought from Fortis Hospital in Mulund to Wadia Hospital in Parel through a green corridor. The route of about 23.9 km was covered in roughly 25 minutes. The total time from the donor's heart stopping to the transplanted heart beating in Tanmay's chest was about three hours. Tanmay spent seven days in the intensive care unit before being shifted to a ward.

His mother, Sujata Shinde, thanked the donor's family. She said the experience had inspired her to pledge her own organs and to encourage others to think about organ donation.

Tanmay is recovering, but the family faces another medical challenge. His 11-year-old brother, Pranav, has also been diagnosed with a genetic heart condition and also needs a transplant.

According to hospital figures, about 300 to 370 children are being treated for heart conditions at Wadia Hospital. About 20 of them need a heart transplant urgently. The hospital has registered more children with the Zonal Transplant Coordination Centre (ZTCC) for organs.

Dr Panda described the shortage of suitable donor hearts as a major challenge in paediatric transplants. Compatibility depends on factors such as blood group, body size and the medical condition of the donor organ. The scarcity of suitable child donors makes the process harder.

The cost of Tanmay's treatment was estimated at about Rs 20 lakh, beyond the family's means. His father, Ashok Shinde, works as a BEST bus conductor. According to Dr Panda, the hospital and its support network, including crowdfunding, covered the cost of medical tests, organ retrieval and transport, surgery and post-operative care.

Tanmay's successful transplant is a ray of hope for other children waiting for life-saving treatment. But helping more children with severe heart failure will need greater awareness about organ donation and better access to suitable donor organs.