Lungs lost to Covid, Lohia doc Suman to get rare transplant soon

With the state government pledging financial aid of ₹1

With the state government pledging financial aid of ₹1.50 crore, Sharda Suman, 30, a resident doctor at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Science (RMLIMS), hopes to get her rare lung transplant surgery soon.

HT Image

Battling for life since Covid-19 caused irreparable damage to both of her lungs in April, the woman doctor will soon be shifted to one of the four centres for lung transplant, said Prof Sonia Nityanand, director, RMLIMS, on Wednesday.

Addressing a press conference, Prof Sonia Nityanand said, “There are four centres, KIMS Hospital, Hyderabad, MGM Hospital, Chennai, Yashoda hospital, Hyderabad and another one in Chennai, where lung transplant is done. We have approached all and hope to receive reply from them anytime now and immediately after that we shall plan to shift Dr Sharda Suman.”

Dr Srikesh Singh, spokesperson of the institute said, “The state government has been kind to help financially. Immediately after our request, the amount of ₹1.50 crore had been sanctioned.”

Dr Suman had tested positive for Covid while doing her duty during the pandemic. She remained in home isolation for a couple of days but had to be admitted to the Lohia institute, where she is doing PG in gynaecology.

This is first of its kind case in UP where lung transplant is being planned for a doctor who got infected while on Covid duty.

She joined Lohia institute in 2018 and got married on May 29, 2019, to Dr Ajay, who is also a resident doctor in the same institute.

She performed Covid duty while being pregnant. “Doctors got her caesarean delivery done on May 6. Her baby girl is Covid negative and is doing fine,” said Prof Nityanand.

“For the past 45-days she is on ECMO (extra corporeal membrane oxygenation) and as per the panel of experts who examined her case, she is fit for a lung transplant,” said Dr Rajan Bhatnagar, chief medical superintendent of the institute.

“After expert committee report we approached the state government and chief minister Yogi Adityanath took personal initiative to get the financial support extended immediately,” said Prof Nityanand.

The doctor had first fallen ill on April 12 when she got fever. The next day, she tested positive for Covid. Currently, she is being looked after by a dedicated medical team under Dr PK Das.

The lung transplant requires a cadaveric donor and before that pre-transplant procedures are done at the lung transplant centre only.