A heart transplant replaces a failing heart with a healthy heart from a donor. It is considered when severe heart failure persists despite the best medicines, devices and other treatments, and when life expectancy is limited. It is a major, lifelong commitment that involves a specialised team.

Patients searching for heart treatment in Mumbai at Apex who may need transplantation are assessed by a cardiologist, who reviews the heart condition, other illnesses and support at home. If a patient is a candidate, the team arranges a referral to a transplant centre. Donor hearts come from donors who have been declared brain-stem dead, and allocation follows the legal framework for organ donation in India.

After transplantation, patients take immunosuppressant medicines for life to prevent rejection and attend frequent clinics for blood tests, echocardiograms, and, at times, heart muscle biopsies. Cardiac rehabilitation helps recovery. The cardiology team at Apex supports patients before their referral and after they return home, coordinating with the transplant centre.

How the Procedure Can Help

Transplantation can restore energy, remove breathlessness and extend life for people with end-stage heart failure.

Risks and Considerations

Risks include rejection, infection from immune suppression, kidney damage, high blood pressure, diabetes, certain cancers and narrowing of the transplanted heart's arteries over time. Fever, breathlessness or swelling after transplantation needs urgent review. Not every patient qualifies, and waiting times can be long.