Having completed 1500 Bone Marrow Transplants, Dr Rajitha Senaratne, Minister of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine, Sri Lanka congratulated Apollo Hospitals for this rare achievement which benefits not only patients from India but also thousands suffering in various parts of the world. Patients have been treated at Apollo Hospitals from all over India including Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Kozhikode, Gujarat, Bengal and from foreign countries like Oman, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Dubai, UAE and Mauritius. Apollo Hospitals, Chennai was the first hospital to conduct India’s first cord blood transplant and unrelated transplant.

1500 patients have been treated at Apollo Bone Marrow Transplant units from all over India including Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Kozhikode, Gujarat, Bengal as well as from foreign countries like Oman, Bangladesh, Srilanka, Tanzania, Dubai, UAE, and Mauritius. Apollo Hospitals, Chennai was the first hospital to conduct India’s first cord blood transplant and unrelated transplant, and the 1500 BMT landmark endorses the success of these high-end procedures for both children and adults with survival rates comparable to western centres. Bone marrow transplantation saves the lives of patients with blood cancer and serious blood disorders like thalassemia major, aplastic anemia and primary immune deficiency. Commenting on this milestone, Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Executive Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “We are proud of the commitment and drive shown by our team in this life saving achievement. I am glad that our team has helped over 1500 patients from across India as well as abroad to celebrate life and win over life threatening conditions through a Bone Marrow Transplant. For us, this number is just one milestone on our journey of healing. Though we have come a long way from the first successful BMT at Apollo in 1995, there are many more patients who are in need of BMT. It is extremely important that people come forward for bone marrow donation and help save more lives.” Sharing his thoughts, Dr. Ramesh Nimmagadda, Director, Medical Oncology, Apollo Cancer Institute said, “Our patients come to us with a sense of hope and it is with joy and a sense of fulfilment that we are celebrating over 1500 lives on this occasion. It is not just a milestone that our team has achieved here, but more than that it is an occasion to celebrate the courage, determination and spirit of the patients whose age ranges from 6 weeks to 68 years! Innovation, technology, teamwork and dedication at the hospital has enabled us to take the lead in BMT.” Equipped with highly qualified team, and stringent infection control norms which are critical for BMT patients, BMT treatment is available across the Apollo Hospitals chain at Chennai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Kolkata. Apollo Hospitals was the first private hospital in India to perform the procedure in 1995. Today, the BMT procedure performed at Apollo for over 40 different conditions have resulted in over 1500 people celebrating life. Apollo Hospitals group now marks a milestone with the first private hospital in India to cross 1500 BMT procedures.

Apollo Hospitals treats 22 under privileged infants free-of-cost for cardiac ailments Includes 11 open heart surgeries Programme will be extended to 44 more infants Mumbai, 15th May, 2018: When Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai launched its first tertiary care Multi-speciality hospital in Navi Mumbai, it committed to treat around 66 pediatric cardiac patients from underprivileged families at no cost. Today, the hospital has completed 22 such procedures of which 11 infants underwent open heart surgeries and remaining 11 treated with interventional procedures. Apollo Hospitals is shortlisting & inviting eligible families to come forward and benefit from this programme. One of the recent cases treated by the hospital in Navi Mumbai is that of an 11 month old baby Harsh Tamboli. When the parents Mr Prashanth Tamboli experienced repeated episodes of cough and cold, little did they know that Master Harsh Tamboli, was suspected to have congenital heart disease due to abnormal heart beats. On diagnosis, it confirmed severe Valvular Aortic Stenosis with preserved ventricular function. He was successfully managed bypaediatric cardiologists at Apollo Hospitals, Navi Mumbai by performing balloon aortic valvotomy. “We come from a remote place near Raigad. When we saw our baby struggle to breathe, we were completely unaware of its heart health being the reason behind it. While we knew that we urgently needed a specialist doctor to treat our child, we were also worried about funding the treatment. Knowing that heart related treatment will cost a huge amount, we were extremely worried about our child’s health. We were then referred to Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai. I am very glad we came here. The hospital has treated my child with the best of its services at no cost.” said Ms. Prashanth Tamboli, father of the baby. Pediatric heart cases deserve specialized attention. Immediate detection of cardiac anomalies is of utmost importance to avoid long term, or irreversible damage to the heart andpotential loss of life. Dr Neville Soloman, Consultant, Paeditaric Cardiac Surgery, Apollo Hospitals, said, “Out of 1000 children, 8 children have congenital heart disease. On an average 3 to 4 need to undergo a surgery or their survival becomes a challenge, but not all children require surgery, simple conditions can be managed by interventional procedures (Non-surgical procedures) andcomplex conditions can be cured by open heart surgery with excellent results, if the team is good. Many of these children can lead a normal life like any other children with good quality of life.” “Pediatric cardiac cases observed in the lower socio-economic strata of society usually go undiagnosed. This initiative aims to not only deliver quality of life and the best healthcare facilities to the underprivileged; we also want to create more awareness on heart health of the baby right from pregnancy. It is heartening to see that our services are helping families reassure lives of their babies who are being diagnosed with heart related ailments,” said Dr Narendra Trivedi, CEO, Apollo Hospitals, Navi Mumbai Specially designed for the underprivileged families, the hospital has set a selection process for families to benefit from this programme. The selection criteria is based on producing certificates / documents that include: Patient case history Identity card / residential proof Income certificate based on lower income criteria This noble initiative announced by Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai was to commemorate a milestone of 66th Apollo Hospital being launched in India.

IPL Sunrisers team members, Rashid Khan, Carlos Brathwaite, Sandeep Sharma, Siddarth Kaul and Tom Moody, joined the celebrations of over 70 hearing impaired girls benefitting from the ‘Hearing Impaired Girl Child Project’ (HIGCP), initiated by Apollo Hospitals and SAHI, three years ago at Apollo Medical College, Jubilee Hills. The project was incidentally launched by the Sunrisers team in 2015. Also present on the occasion were Ms. Upasana Kamineni, Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Foundation and ENT Surgeons Dr EC Vinaya Kumar, Dr K Rambabu, Dr Jaswinder Singh and other consultants. The IPL team members interacted with the girls, besides playing cricket with them. The sponsors of these surgeries were felicitated by Tom Moody and Ms. Upasana Kamineni, on the occasion. As per WHO estimates, approximately 63 million people suffer from significant hearing impairment every year in India. 4 to 5 babies in every 1000 born, suffer from severe to profound hearing loss in India. If left untreated in the first 3 to 5 years of life, these children end up with hearing and speech disorders throughout their lifetime. HIGCP has been helping hearing impaired girls under the age of fifteen, by providing the state of-the-art Cochlear implant and performing the surgeries, free of cost. HIGCP bears the entire cost of approximate INR 8 lakhs per child. The one-year Auditory Verbal Therapy required Post-surgery, is funded by Pink Crocodile, an International NGO. Speaking on the occasion Tom Moody said “We are privileged to be associated with a worthy cause. The gift of hearing is taken for granted by us, but the specialists here have done something remarkable by giving that hearing ability to these young children, especially the girl children and that’s very special. We as cricketers are recognized for some remarkable performances, but nothing is more remarkable than what we have seen here today.” Ms. Upasana Kamineni said “We are really blessed to have such angels at Apollo Hospitals who made a difference in the lives of so many young kids. My husband played the role of a deaf person in Rangasthalam recently and I really know the value of gift of hearing. I thank the IPL Sunrisers Team members for being here in support of this noble cause and I want the Sunrisers to lift the trophy this year for two reasons, one because you represent Hyderabad and much more than that, for you having kind hearts.” Dr. E.C. Vinay Kumar, Head, Dept. of ENT, Apollo Health City and Secretary, SAHI added “We have a strong rationale to focus on the girl child for this project. The reasons are varied – A hearing-impaired girl is at a greater risk of facing abuse both physically and mentally. Historically too, the needs of a female child are often neglected by parents and the prohibitive cost of treatment only inhibits them. They instead prefer to divert their limited resources to address their son’s aspirations. Also, a hearing and speech impaired girl is in greater danger of remaining unemployed, unmarried or being ill-treated at her in-law’s place”. “Cochlear Implant Surgery will empower a hearing-impaired girl child, help her evolve into a respectable citizen, besides enabling her to achieve her dreams and ambitions. She will be able to live life on her own terms” said Dr Rambabu, ENT Surgeon, Apollo Health City & Director Medical Services, SAHI.   About Society to Aid the Hearing Impaired (SAHI) In November of 2004, a group of ENT surgeons, audiologists, and hospital management personnel, united with concerned citizens, to form SAHI. It is an Indian NGO that aims at helping underprivileged children with impaired hearing. SAHI mainly seeks to identify and aid children living in rural areas, with little or no access to modern medical treatment. Since its establishment, SAHI has been addressing this problem by means of conducting camps in remote areas of the state. Children with learning disabilities or hearing loss are given hearing aids by SAHI and those with ear diseases are given free ear surgeries.

Over three decades ago, in 1987, Apollo Pharmacy was started with the single minded goal to ensure protection from spurious drugs and provide consumers with round-the-clock access to genuine life-saving and OTC drugs. Apollo Pharmacy has always upheld Apollo’s patient first philosophy and consumers depend on us to always safeguard them when it matters most. This momentous milestone underscores the trust that India reposes in Apollo Pharmacy. Since its inception, it has been our Chairman’s pioneering ethos that has steered Apollo Hospitals emergence as Asia’s leading integrated healthcare organization with a presence across every key touch point of the healthcare ecosystem. As India’s largest retail pharmacy chain, Apollo Pharmacy has a presence in 18 states across India, covering over 400 cities and they dispense over 3.5 lakh prescriptions per day. In addition, Apollo Pharmacy has continuously pioneered value-added services such as free home delivery, refill reminder programs and community health camps. New format stores have been conceptualized with a focus on providing the latest therapies against lifestyle diseases. In the days to come, Apollo Pharmacy is looking to introduce several programs for chronic care and preventive care. This year, Apollo Pharmacy also introduced Holland & Barrett, UK’s leading wellness products reiterating its commitment towards strengthening health & wellness in India.  

As part of the Public Private Partnership initiative to control Tuberculosis, Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad and RNTCP (Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program), Telangana, jointly hosted the World TB Day – 2018 program, on the eve of World TB Day (March 24th). Each year, world-over, the day is commemorated to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of tuberculosis (TB) and to step up efforts to end the global TB epidemic. The theme of World TB Day 2018, “Wanted: Leaders for a TB-free world” focuses on building commitment across globally in all sectors – including governments, NGOs, private partners in the fight against TB. The program was attended by Chief Guest Dr. Ch. Surya Prakash, Joint Director (TB) and STO – Telangana; Guests of Honor Dr. Hari Prasad, President, Hospitals Division, Apollo Hospitals and Dr.Suneetha Narreddy, Consultant, Infectious Diseases, Apollo Hospitals, patients, volunteers and the general public. An animation film on TB was released and a flash mob dance was performed by students of the Sri Venkateshwara college of pharmacy, on the occasion to sensitize the society about the disease. Addressing the gathering Dr Surya Prakash said “I appreciate the lead taken by Apollo Hospitals to raise awareness about TB and supporting and supplementing the state in its endeavour to end TB. India has the highest TB burden. We can’t win the battle over TB unless we take effective measures like detecting TB cases at very early stages and supporting in completing the treatment fully. The state presently has 391 Designated Microscopy Centres spread across, delivering diagnosis and treatment services. The TB control program has recently seen a paradigm shift. We moved from alternate day regimen to daily regimen. The pill burden has reduced for the benefit of the patients and this will help in better adherence to the TB treatment. The state is actively pursuing effective implementation of the Clinical Establishment Act and Schedule H1 reporting for improving Private sector TB notifications. The Government of India recently supplied 15 CBNAAT machines, which are used for the rapid diagnosis of drug resistant TB, thereby taking the total CBNAAT machines in the state to 31. With this at least one machine is available in each of the districts. Now the program is extending an incentive of Rs. 500/- per month as nutritional support for all the TB patients.” He also added “Incentives are also available for private practitioners notifying the TB cases. The state has excellent support of the NGO partners. They are supplementing the efforts of the state in making the TB control services more accessible. The objective of the Government of India is to eliminate TB by 2025 and this is possible only through collaborative efforts. The Apollo initiative to use innovative SMS and IVR technologies to remind and counsel the TB patients should be appreciated. Such innovative applications help in adherence to the treatment. Apollo is also notifying the TB cases to Government. Its initiative is among the best in the state. A TB Free world is not a dream if we all put our hands together in fight against TB. Let us make history by ending TB in India.” Dr. Hariprasad said “Earlier TB was easily treatable and was not known for morbidity and mortality, today it has taken a form, where we have to collaborate and eradicate TB, failing which the epidemic will claim many lives across the world. Apollo has always responded to the needs of the community, not just treating critical ailment, but also addressing ailments like TB and in today’s context responding to TB is a very important part of our endeavour. On our part we will support the state and the Union government in achieving the goal of ending TB. The Union Government has just passed a G.O., which makes reporting of TB mandatory and if any institution or Doctor who doesn’t report TB, it becomes a criminal offence. So, the medical community should make sure they report TB where ever they see it. Unless it is reported we can’t keep track of and handle the disease the way we want. At Apollo we are more than happy to work with the Government sector and lead the private sector in this fight against TB.” Dr. Suneetha Narreddy said “TB has become a major threat in the world due to the drug resistance TB. Apollo has taken the initiative to notify TB cases to the Government and our work is testified by the fact that of the 1700 patients reported by the private sector from the combined AP and Telangana states, 700 are notified by Apollo alone. Apollo through its pioneering initiative is working with the RNTCP and the Government through a private public partnership in the fight against TB. Despite significant progress over the last few decades, TB continues to be the top infectious killer worldwide, claiming over 4,500 lives a day. The emergence of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) poses a major health security threat and could risk gains made in the fight against TB. The epidemic of tuberculosis (TB) is likened to the tip of an iceberg, with significant numbers unreached by the public health systems, globally. In India with an estimated incidence of 2.8 million, only 1.7 million TB cases were notified in 2015. Over a million cases are missing from the national notification system, posing a severe threat to the efforts towards ending TB by 2035, as per the ‘End TB strategy.’ Most of these seek care outside the national TB program in the private sector which is the first point of contact for nearly 80% of the general population. There is currently no mechanism in place in the private sector to follow up patients for adherence and treatment completion and response to treatment is not known. To overcome this precarious situation mainly in the private sector, Apollo Hospitals in partnership with The Union South East Asia office, supported by Eli Lilly Foundation piloted an innovative eHealth intervention to engage corporate hospitals for TB notification and adherence support. As part of this a software was developed, which interfaces with ‘Nikshay’ – the Government’s web-based case-based notification system; and facilitates reminders for treatment adherence. Counselling services are provided through a trained counsellor as a follow up to the messages sent. The program was initiated in June 2015 and has till date reported over 700, as against a mere 1700 patients reported from the entire combined AP and Telangana in the private sector, in the same time period. Apollo has already expanded this program to all the Apollo Hospitals in Hyderabad and is working on expanding the same to other cities as well.”

The Apollo Health City team at Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad was led by Dr. P. Sharat Kumar, Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon who performed the double hip replacement using the latest minimally invasive procedure – the Direct Hip Anterior. Both hips of Mr. Mukhtar Hilowli were fused following a severe bout of infection, way back in 1986. The hip joint comprises of femoral head (ball like) and acetabulum(socket). For easy movement of the hips the, femoral head moves in the acetabulum. In his case, due to the infection in both right and left hip joints, normal cartilage on the femoral head and acetabulum were destroyed and caused fusion of femoral head and acetabulum. This deprived him of the normal hip joint movement. The fusing of hips joints led to his hips losing the natural manoeuvrability and made his day to day life miserable. He had an abnormal gait on account of this, which made movement on both his legs arduous. His normal routine was impaired during the prime of his life and he had to endure the trauma for the last 31 years. His ordeal amplified in recent times, as he also developed pain in both knee joints and lower back, which was due to his abnormal posture and excess stress on these joints. After exhausting various options of treatment, he approached Dr. Paripati Sharat Kumar on December 29th, 2017. After thorough examination and investigations, Mr. Hilowli underwent sequential bilateral total hip replacements, with the right hip being replaced first on December 30th, 2017, followed by the left hip replacement on February 15th, 2018. According to Dr. Sharat, the conversion of a fused hip joint is extremely complex and challenging due to excess blood loss, poor bone and soft tissue quality, difficulty in orientation as evidence of joint surface is completely obliterated. As the joints had fused more than 3 decades ago, the surgery itself was quite demanding. In a first of its kind in India, Dr. Sharat used the latest and minimally invasive procedure – Direct anterior approach. This is considered the most preferred choice in hip surgery off-late, globally. The conventional approach involves making a long incision and cutting muscle that supports and stabilizes the hip joint. Whereas in direct anterior approach, the muscles are separated to reach and expose the hip joint through a 3 to 4-inch incision on the front of the hip. He elected this approach as the patient’s strength was poor around his hips and the joint stability would be further compromised by the conventional approach. Also pain and bleeding is relatively less and rehabilitation is quicker. The patient has since recovered well and is undergoing physiotherapy and rehabilitation. He is eagerly looking forward to go home and is wondering what his friends and relatives would call him now as he was for 3 decades nicknamed “the Crooked Gaited” says Dr. Sharat.

Ms Shobana Kamineni, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals & President, CII inaugurated and delivered the keynote address. Also present on the occasion were Dr Somaraju B, Chairman, CARE Hospitals; Dr Guruva Reddy, Chairman, Sunshine Hospital; Dr Gopichand M, Chairman, Star Hospitals; Dr K Hari Prasad, President, Apollo Hospital; Organising Committee members Dr Amitava Ray, Organising Secretary; Ms Ishita Shively, Treasurer and over 300 participant Doctors from 23 hospitals. Medical profession is today at cross roads. Besides addressing the public health needs, doctors also urgently need to address professional and personal issues they face on a daily basis. In fact, often these aspects are ignored, the consequences impact the doctor and his family. This conference is making a beginning to address such issues and ensure an all-round growth of those in the profession. Speaking on the occasion Ms Shobana Kamineni said “Medical professionals need to constantly upgrade their skills and leverage technology. We need to allow more and more technology to come. If there are any who think that technology may make them redundant or replace people, they should realise that technology in fact creates more jobs, it makes their job more easy and efficient. Convergence of technology will make the journey little bit easier. The recently introduced Ayushman Bharat will be biggest job creator for India. While it opens access to better healthcare for 500 mn Indians, it is also a huge opportunity, it creates 50 mn jobs. India can become more vibrant. She said the top risks seen to mankind by analysts are climate change and worldwide pandemic, which is expected to emanate from the East. Also, the profession needs to build trust and that brings the best results. Today’s patient is little more educated and tends to question. Doctors should try and patiently respond to the questioning attitude of patients, which only makes the society richer and knowledgeable. It is for the profession to think out of the box, find solutions and deliver.” Dr Hari Prasad said “Trust between patient and Doctor is the most important factor. It is this trust which keeps the bond between patient and doctor strong. If there is a trust deficiency, it is due to multiple factors and leads to mis-communication between the two resulting in defensive medicine. To bridge this deficit, we all need to work towards making the bond robust. Healthcare itself is seeing lot of changes in practice, technology, access to healthcare is rising, public activism has gone up. In such a scenario, many doctors lack confidence to provide efficient care and this conference will build and instil the confidence among Doctors to provide the right care.” Dr Gopichand said “As medical care is becoming expensive and the patient has to meet these expenses from his pocket, he is not willing to trust every test the doctor prescribes. Once more and more people get medical insurance and cost of healthcare is not a burden on their pockets, the trust between patient and doctor will be restored.” Dr Somaraju said “The patient and doctor are not opposite parties. Their objective is the recovery of the patient and therefore we need to work towards restoring the trust before it erodes further. Ultimately loss of trust impacts everyone, the doctor, the patient and the system, but it hurts the patient most. There are issues with the doctors, hospitals, public, mediators especially politicians, media, unless we all discuss, the issue can’t be sorted.” Dr Guruva Reddy said “In a situation of distrust, what is right is more important than who is right. As diseases have also become hi-tech, which was not the case earlier, majority of the tests have become mandatory for the benefit of the patient. Doctors only wants to provide the best care to his patient.” Dr Alok Ranjan, Sr Neurosurgeon, Apollo Hospitals said “Every treatment has a gold standard, which is of course dynamic and as long as we are true and honest in dealing with every patient and are transparent in what we are doing and show empathy, there should not be a disagreement between Doctor and patient.” Dr Amitava Ray said “Some statistics reveal an alarming picture and abject ignorance on these vital aspects in the profession. The life span of Indian Doctors may be 10 years less than the mean life expectancy of our matched populace and around 2500 Doctors commit suicide every year and 90% of these Doctors are in the 24 to 38 age brackets. They face many challenges within the profession and outside, stress and poor lifestyle only hamper their progress. This conference is to sensitise the doctors to combat such challenges.” This Conference cutting across hospital and specialty boundaries, had mentors from 5 major hospitals, eminent speakers addressing the participants on issues those in the Doctor profession confront on a day to day basis like Building Careers, Law & Ethics, Financial Wellness & Personal Wellness and will delve into aspects like how to enhance their careers, manage finances, be on the right side of the law, keep fit, cope with stress etc. The Conference had 4 sessions addressing key areas that are not covered in any Medical School curriculum.

During the workshop, the Apollo hospitals team appealed to people through presentations on road accidents, casualties and surgery. Apollo Hospitals will soon launch traffic awareness drives through skit shows in rural district areas. Addressing the workshop, Consultants of Department of Neurosurgery Dr. Sunil Sharma and Dr Rajkumar said that during people often invite mishaps due to reckless driving, not following the rules and driving under the influence of alcohol. They said that in the case of road accidents, mostly people sustain head injury for not wearing helmets and many patients cant even be operated successfully , due to multiple injuries and shocks. “Knowing your risks is the first step in preventing and reversing the chances of mishaps”, they said and added that accidents mostly take place dur to negligence and besides the patient, the entire family suffers. Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr. Bharat Bhushan Borde informed that in the year 2014, India recorded about 4 lakhs road accidents which became 5 lakhs in the following year. According to International surveys, India ranks second for the largest number of road accidents with maximum number of deaths. Of the total about 30% of the deaths are of bikers. He said that in India, about 5000 road accident deaths occur due to reckless bike driving and 80% are due to head injuries because of not wearing helmets. Superintendent of Police Shaik Arif Hussain in his address said that Chattisgarh is the 11th most accident-prone state in India and most of the deaths are that of people aged between 15 – 35 years. He mentioned that people are aware of theirs rights but not their responsibilities. He said that Police personnel are always available to maintain law, order and traffic system but it is also the duty of the people to follow traffic rules and drive safely. He said that people must develop civic sense and decide which way they would like to shape the future of the next generation. He also added that it is the responsibility of every person to help accident victims and take them to the nearest hospital so that they can get primary treatment. People mostly die because of not receiving immediate medical attention after an accident. People who help accident victims will not be questioned by anyone. The workshop was also addressed by former Inspector General of Police Dilip Singh Rajpal and Chief Operating Officer of Apollo Hospitals Sujal Sen. Dignitaries including Chief Dietician, V Champa, Sumana Choudhury, Ajay Zade, Devesh Gopal, Senior doctors of the hospital, staff members, accident survivors, their family members and a large number of people from all walks of life.

As the world celebrated Valentine’s Day, the day of love and togetherness, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals organized, a unique event to celebrate the essence of the day. While some shower gifts to their loved ones, others offer something more priceless. The donation of an organ – the proverbial gift of life – was celebrated with doctors, patients, donors and loved ones celebrating sacrifice and eternal love at the event. More than 50 families, each of whom having experienced an organ transplant as a donor or recipient, gathered to mark Valentine’s Day as they thanked, celebrated and expressed gratitude for a new lease of life. They celebrated their stories of courage, hope and grit. The ups and downs in their lives seemed familiar to each other. They empathized with the emotional and physical challenges that their lives had been through. Through this though, they ultimately celebrated their triumphs, their lives and their collective futures. Mr. Ashok Bajpai, Managing Director, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals said “We are honored to have touched so many lives through our transplant program. We are indeed fortunate to be the via media to ensure individuals and families get another shot at life, each of which is precious. Through this event, we would like to reiterate the need for more people to become organ donors in our country. While donation rates have increased, more awareness and action at the level of the individual is needed for India to become sufficient to take care of the disease burden of end stage organ failure.” Dr. Sandeep Guleria, Senior Consultant Surgeon, Kidney Transplantation, said, “Transplant surgeries saves many lives but many times due to lack of donors, precious lives are lost. For every one million people, only 0.08 organ donors are available in the country. This makes organ donation rates one of the lowest in India. We celebrate the religious and charitable donations. Similarly, we also need to instil in the community the spirit of enthusiasm to come forward and pledge to donate organs. This event is a step in this direction.” Dr. Neerav Goyal, Senior Consultant Surgeon, Liver Transplantation, said, “Most transplants, especially liver transplants, occur between family members because of lack of other donors and sometimes also due to close genetic linkage. Through this event, on Valentine’s day, we wish to celebrate the spirit of love for family and humanity which helps in saving countless lives through organ donation.” Dr. Anupam Sibal, Group Medical Director, Apollo Hospitals & Senior Consultant, Pediatric Gastroenterology, said, “Organ donation is the greatest donation one can make. This act of kindness is a gift of life for the patients and their families. On this day of love, nothing can express love better than gifting a new lease of life to someone. We are privileged to have earned the trust of so many families since performing India’s first successful liver transplant in 1998 and first successful combined liver kidney transplants in 1999. Through this event, we aim to raise awareness about the importance of organ donation and the urgent need to increase the number of organ donors in the country to meet the requirements.”

Special awards were presented to 112 women, each who has been an achiever par excellence and made India proud with their stellar achievements. In the words of Minister for Women and Child Development Smt Maneka Gandhi, the awards under the banner of “First Ladies” are in keeping with the solemn spirit of ‘Empowered Nari’ and honours women who have excelled in their field, often believed to be beyond them.

The team of Dr. V. Surya Prakasa Rao, HOD, Cardiology; Dr. K. Venkat Reddy, Chief Cardiac Surgeon, and Dr. P. L. N. Kapardhi, at Apollo Hospitals, Hyderguda, performed a procedure using the most advanced Left ventricular assist device – “Left ventricular assist device” (LVAD HEART MATE 3). The 70-year-old patient Mr. Syed Afsar Hassan, from Jubilee Hills, was a high-risk case, having undergone bypass surgery (CABG) for triple vessel block way back in 1995 in Germany. He had also been implanted with stents for the blocked surgical grafts in Germany. As recently as 2015, he had a stent implanted in left main coronary artery at Apollo Hospitals, Hyderguda, for a fresh heart attack. He was also suffering from diabetes and chronic kidney disease. Being a redo case, the risk of operative mortality and morbidity was pretty high. He was a sick patient who came with a complaint of severe breathlessness, unable to move or lie down. The team had a challenge on hand as the patient was in an advanced age, sick and had several episodes of heart attacks, went into a heart failure and was getting into kidney failure too. Maximum medical management was attempted, with him not responding to any of the options and all efforts proved to be ineffective. He was given a device called CRT – D (Pacemaker like) to improve his heart failure, which showed partial improvement. The patient however was desiring a treatment which could give a better quality of life and enable him to pursue his business actively. The team explored the option of cardiac transplantation, but the patient’s condition, associated medical co-morbidities and advanced age made him unfit for that too. As the team had exhausted all options, they decided to opt for a relatively new procedure, with a mechanical heart called “Left ventricular assist device” (LVAD HEART MATE 3). This is the most advanced Left ventricular assist device available and functions on magnetic field, effecting higher revolutions or rotations. Blood clotting is almost negligible, thereby reducing the chances of stroke. Since the device was of lesser size, a relatively minimally invasive procedure was performed to implant it. This device did not need creation of pocket in the peritoneal cavity, unlike previous ones. The best part is that the unit has memory to adapt to the patient’s parameters quickly. Dr Venkat Reddy said “Patients of heart failure, those not fit for heart transplant, terminal heart patients and also those who had no other option, can immensely benefit from this procedure. It is essential to spread the message of this procedure being available for such patients, and that they no more need to lose hope.” Patient Mr. Hasan said “This is nothing less than a miracle, I was counting my days and never expected to recover so much. Today I am feeling excellent, I don’t have any pain even that of an ant bite. I was in the last stage of heart failure and it was the indomitable spirit of team of Doctors here which saved me, they left no stone unturned, they kept trying various options to get my heart back to normal and they went to the extent as a last resort to attempt this procedure by getting the device not available here, from abroad. I had an option of going to Germany to get treated, but preferred Apollo, Hyderguda, as from my earlier experience, I found the cardiac team here extremely competent. My message to patients is not to panic, we have several options and above all India and Hyderabad in specific , offer excellent medical care and you need not go abroad. Apollo is totally professional, they have a skilled team of doctors and staff, who are committed and of course the good technology they have. After a major and complicated surgery considering the patient’s and advanced age, lasting over 12 hours, he was implanted with this life saving machine. He has since recovered, but will have to be on blood thinning medicines lifelong and needs regular medical checks. He can now lead a normal life, attend to his daily chores, take care of his Business and even travel, with some restrictions. There were two cases of LVAD done in the Telugu states prior to this. But the device used here is more sophisticated and was being implanted in a very sick patient of advanced age, whose chances of survival was bleak otherwise. The procedure was done by Dr. K. Venkat Reddy, Dr. Pradeep, Dr. Shyam and Dr. Rafieq, under the supervision of Dr. V. Surya Prakasa Rao, HOD, Cardiology.