Russian by nationality, but Indian by 'heart'; meet Gleb Kudriavtsev

Chennai, Feb 3: A Bengaluru-based couple, by donating the heart of their two-year-old brain dead boy, has become the saviour of a Russian boy, aged two years and nine months.

Gleb Kudriavtsev, the baby who hails from Moscow has now become the nation's youngest patient to undergo a complex heart transplant procedure.

For the past two years and nine months, Gleb was suffering from Restrictive Cardio Myopathy, which is a condition where the heart muscle thickens and loses its ability to pump blood properly.

"When Gleb was six months old, we found that his abdomen was unusually swollen and consulted the doctor. After examining the kid, doctors informed me that my son was suffering from Restrictive Cardio Myopathy and reasons for that was completely unknown," said Nelli Kudriavtceva.

Doctors also informed that a heart transplant was the only solution to save the boy.

After understanding the critical condition of her son, Nelli spoke to many doctors across borders and countries. However, Fortis Malar hospital, Chennai was her final destination.

Making use of an inter-state green corridor, the heart was transported from Bengaluru to Chennai, taking only 47 minutes for the travel.

A specialist team of doctors under the leadership of Dr KR Balakrishnan, Director Cardiac Sciences at Fortis Malar, successfully completed the surgery that lasted for over 8 hours.

According to Dr KR Balakrishnan, the major challenge occurs in pediatric transplant is on tracking a donor. He points out that there is an acute shortage of paediatric donors in worldwide.

It took ten days for the baby to adjust with his new heart. Now, Gleb is like any other kid of his age smiling, laughing and playing with his mother.

The success of the Gleb's surgery can be traced as a ray of hope to many more children suffering from end-stage heart failure.

OneIndia News