Heart transplant patient aided by air ambulance discharged

An autorickshaw driver, who underwent a heart transplantation surgery which was successfully aided by the first air ambulance service in Kerala, was today discharged from a hospital here.
Mathew Achadan was discharged from Lisie hospital, a hospital spokesman said.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Excise Minister K Babu, Hybi Eden MLA and several other dignitaries visited Lisie hospital today to attend a brief function in which the auto driver Mathew Achadan was felicitated.
Achadan and his family thanked the team of doctors headed by cardiologist Jose Chacko Periyappuram, who successfully performed the transplantation in July.
They also expressed their gratitude to the family of donor S Neelakanda Sharma, who was declared brain-dead in Thiruvananthapuram.

Sharma's heart was flown to Kochi by the air ambulance service and successfully transplanted on Achadan.
The spokesman also said all tests performed on Achadan were positive. But he would be staying in a flat in the hospital's neighbourhood for quite some time, he said.