What Is a
Heart Transplant?
A heart transplant is major surgery in which a severely diseased heart is removed and replaced with a healthy heart from a deceased donor whose family has consented to organ donation. The most common technique is orthotopic heart transplantation, where the new heart is placed in the same position as the old one. It is the treatment of last resort for end-stage heart failure.
When the heart muscle is too weak or stiff to pump enough blood — despite the best medicines and devices — patients can become breathless at rest, unable to manage daily activities and frequently admitted to hospital. For carefully selected patients, a heart transplant offers the chance of a much longer and more active life.
At KG Hospital, the heart transplant programme is part of KG Heart Center and the NOTTO-authorised Organ Transplant Unit. It covers pre-transplant evaluation, surgical transplantation, and long-term management including immunosuppression monitoring, cardiac rehabilitation and indefinite specialist follow-up.
- Deceased donors only
- Orthotopic transplantation
- NOTTO-authorised centre
- TNOS waiting list
- LVAD bridge available
- Lifelong follow-up
Who Is a Candidate
for a Heart Transplant?
Every patient is assessed by a multidisciplinary team using international criteria (ISHLT). The aim is to offer a transplant to those who will benefit most, and to make sure all other treatments have been considered.
Treatments Considered
Before a Transplant
Optimal Medicines
Guideline-directed medicines can strengthen the heart and improve survival — see heart failure treatment.
FoundationCRT & ICD Devices
Resynchronisation therapy and defibrillators improve pumping and prevent sudden death — see pacemaker & ICD.
DevicesSurgery or Intervention
Bypass, valve repair or TAVI can sometimes restore heart function enough to avoid a transplant.
CauseLVAD Support
A left ventricular assist device is a mechanical pump that supports the heart — as a bridge while waiting for a donor heart, or as long-term therapy.
Bridge| Factor | LVAD | Heart Transplant |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Mechanical pump attached to your own heart | Your heart is replaced by a donor heart |
| Donor needed? | No | Yes — via TNOS allocation |
| Daily life | External controller and batteries | No external equipment |
| Long-term medicines | Blood thinners | Anti-rejection medicines |
| Used as | Bridge to transplant or long-term therapy | Definitive treatment |
The Heart Transplant
Journey, Step by Step
Referral & Heart Failure Clinic
Your cardiologist refers you to KG Hospital’s Advanced Heart Failure Clinic, where the team confirms the diagnosis and makes sure every other treatment has been tried.
Transplant evaluation
Tests include an echocardiogram, heart catheterisation to measure lung pressures, blood group and tissue typing, infection and cancer screening, kidney, liver and lung assessment, and psychosocial and family counselling.
Listing & waiting
If you are suitable and consent, you are registered on the TNOS waiting list. Waiting time depends on your blood group, body size, urgency and donor availability, and cannot be predicted. Some patients need an LVAD or hospital support while they wait.
The call & surgery
When a matching heart becomes available, you are called to the hospital immediately. The retrieval team brings the donor heart, and the cardiac surgeons replace your heart in a major operation under general anaesthesia that usually takes several hours.
Transplant ICU & recovery
You recover in the dedicated 10-bed Transplant ICU with isolated positive-pressure rooms, supported by the critical care team, before moving to the ward and starting rehabilitation.
Lifelong follow-up
Frequent early check-ups, blood tests for medicine levels and heart biopsies or echo to look for rejection, followed by regular lifelong reviews and cardiac rehabilitation.
Organ Donation, Allocation
& THOA Compliance
In India, a donor heart can come only from a brain-dead (deceased) donor whose family has consented to donation. Donor hearts are allocated fairly through the state registry — TNOS (Tamil Nadu Organ Sharing) under the Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu — based on factors such as blood group, body size and medical urgency.
KG Hospital’s Transplant Unit is authorised by NOTTO (National Organ & Tissue Transplant Organisation) and conducts every transplant in strict compliance with the Transplantation of Human Organs Act (THOA) 1994 and its 2011 amendments. Buying or selling organs is illegal, and organ donation is always voluntary and altruistic.
Life After a
Heart Transplant
Most recipients notice a dramatic improvement in breathing and energy within weeks. Many return to work, travel and exercise within several months, guided by the cardiac rehabilitation team.
Anti-rejection (immunosuppressant) medicines must be taken every day for life. They stop the immune system from attacking the new heart but also increase the risk of infections and can affect the kidneys, blood pressure, blood sugar and bones — so regular monitoring by the transplant team is essential.
Outlook: according to the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) registry, adult heart transplant recipients have a median survival of about 12 years, and many live considerably longer. Results depend on age, other health conditions and careful follow-up.
Heart Transplant Cost
& Financial Support
The cost of a heart transplant includes the evaluation, the surgery and donor-heart retrieval, ICU and hospital stay, and lifelong anti-rejection medicines and follow-up. Because every patient’s needs differ, KG Hospital provides a detailed written estimate after evaluation, and the transplant coordinator explains each stage.
KG Hospital is empanelled with 50+ insurers and TPAs and with CMCHIS, PM-JAY, ESI, CGHS and ECHS. Cover for transplantation varies by policy and scheme, so the transplant coordinator and insurance desk check your eligibility early. Call 0422-4042121, Extn 205. Insurance & cashless details →
Coming from another state or country? Our International Patient Care team can explain the process and documents required. Transplants for foreign nationals follow additional rules under THOA.
The Heart Transplant Team
at KG Hospital
The programme brings together cardiac surgeons, heart failure cardiologists, cardiac anaesthesiologists, intensivists, transplant coordinators, physiotherapists, dieticians and clinical psychologists.
KG Heart Center is part of KG Hospital, founded in 1974 by Padma Shri awardee Dr G. Bakthavathsalam, and accredited by NABH.
About this page. Written by the KG Heart Center and Transplant Unit team, KG Hospital, Coimbatore. Clinical information is consistent with the international guidelines and registry data listed below. Last updated: .
References
- ISHLT Guidelines for the Evaluation and Care of Cardiac Transplant Candidates — International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation.
- ISHLT Guidelines for the Care of Heart Transplant Recipients — International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation.
- 2024 Annual Report from the ISHLT International Thoracic Organ Transplant Registry.
- National Organ & Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) — Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India.
- Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu (TRANSTAN) — Government of Tamil Nadu.