Asia’s first lung transplant surgery on a COVID-19 survivor was performed by Dr K R Balakrishnan, and his team at the MGM Healthcare, Chennai. The virus had severely affected the man’s lungs with corona virus related fibrosis. According to the doctors, the 48-year-old businessman from Gurugram is doing good and his replacement lungs are functioning properly.
Dr KR Balakrishnan, the Chairman and Director of heart and lung transplant programme at the MGM Healthcare said the patient had contracted with Covid-19 on June 8, 2020 and suffered with severe destruction of his lungs. In July, he was airlifted to Chennai on ventilatory support and was put on ECMO treatment. The transplanted lungs came from a brain-dead donor at Chennai's Gleneagles Global Hospital. The donor’s heart was also given to a recipient of the same hospital.