31-year-old patient with Covid lung fibrosis undergoes Delhi’s first transplant

The lungs were donated by a 49-year old woman from Jaipur who was declared brain dead recently after she was had a road accident. A team of 15 doctors performed the surgery for 10 hours at night, the first of its kind on a Covid patient in Delhi.

The patients recently operated was having breathing troubles for the last one year after which he was diagnosed with lung silicosis. In March he was affected by the Covid infection that made things worse until his lungs needed immediate replacement. The patient was put on oxygen requirement that went from nil to 15 litres per min until BIPAP support was given.

According to Dr Rahul Chandola, associate director of the hospital’s Heart & Lung Transplant Specialist and a cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon, getting lung donors is difficult as most are accident victims and the trauma often damage the lungs making them unsuitable for donation. Also, since lungs, unlike other organs are affected by the external environment they are more prone to infection. He further said that the person operated had very poor lung and right heart function.

Lung fibrosis is a condition in which the organ gets stiff and the ability of oxygen to enter the bloodstream diminishes causing breathing problems.

The lung arrived in Delhi through a green corridor set up between the hospital and the Jaipur airport and then between IGI international airport and the hospital. An 18.3 km long distance was covered in 18 minutes.