A beating human heart travelled 350 km, from a man from Tamil Nadu in south India to a woman from the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, whose only hope of survival was early life-saving heart transplantation.

Srinagar-resident Shahzadi Fathima, 33, who had been suffering from terminal heart failure, received unexpected help from an 18-year-old donor in Tamil Nadu who was brain dead. The donor's heart was transported some 350 km from southern Tamil Nadu's Trichy city to a hospital in state capital Chennai, where the woman from Jammu and Kashmir was admitted at MGM Healthcare.

On January 26, a suitable brain-dead donor was identified in a private hospital in Trichy. The heart was rushed to Chennai through a green corridor and a high-risk heart transplantation was carried out on Fathima, who recovered fast after the procedure and is now ready to begin a new life in Kashmir, the hospital was quoted by NDTV as saying.

Fathima lives with her brother, a daily wage earner, who was unable to meet her medical expenses and the cost of the transplant. Aishwarya Trust, a non-profit group, came to her help.

"It was a meaningful way for Aishwarya Trust to celebrate Republic Day by funding the lady's heart transplant on January 26," the trust's founder Chitra Viswanathan said in a statement.

MGM Healthcare carried out the transplant at a subsidized cost. Dr KR Balakrishnan, who led the surgery, thanked the donor's family for agreeing to organ donation "in the face of great personal tragedy". The donor's identity was not disclosed. 

"Such lifesaving transplants need coordination and support from several people and is a true team effort," said Dr Suresh Rao, Co-Director, Institute of Heart and Lung Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support.

(SAM)