Who Qualifies for a Heart Transplant Waiting List in India?

End-stage heart failure that no longer responds to medication, devices, or earlier surgery is what puts a patient on a heart transplant waiting list. The decision rests on how badly the heart has failed, whether the other organs still work, no active infection or cancer, and whether the patient can actually survive the operation. A full evaluation at a transplant centre settles it.

According to Dr. Vishal Khullar, a leading Heart transplant in Mumbai, I list a patient when the heart has failed but the rest of the body is still strong enough to support a transplant.

Certain underlying conditions make failure of the new heart more likely, and these can rule a patient out as a candidate. 

Active infection: A systemic infection has to be cleared first. Transplant patients live on immunity-suppressing drugs, so an untreated infection is dangerous.

Other organ damage: Bad kidney, liver, or lung disease can make recovery too risky. Sometimes a combined transplant is the answer instead.

Cancer: Active or recent malignancy usually means waiting it out until the patient stays cancer-free for a fixed stretch.

Lifestyle factors: Smoking, alcohol, drug use, no one at home to help through recovery. All of it cuts into survival odds, and centres weigh every bit.

Many of these conditions, however, are not permanent. Once the underlying problem is treated, the patient can be reassessed for candidacy. For recovery expectations after major cardiac surgery, read Do’s and Don’ts of Recovering From Heart Surgery.

Dr. Vishal Khullar is the Director of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Heart & Lung Transplant at Fortis Hospital Mulund and Fortis S L Raheja Hospital, Mumbai. He’s spent over 30 years in the field, trained at Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic in the USA, and been part of more than 300 heart and lung transplants along with ventricular assist device procedures.

His transplant assessments don’t drag. Patients hear early whether listing is realistic instead of sitting in limbo for weeks. No false hope, just the medical truth.

1. NHLBI – Heart Treatments and Procedures 
2. WHO – Cardiovascular Diseases