Health technology: India
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10 medical miracles
India Today December 29, 2008
Contents |
First coronary artery graft, 1975
The first successful coronary artery graft was done in 1975 at the Southern Railway Hospital, Perambur, in Chennai by Dr K.M. Cherian. Twenty years later in 1995, aided by the most advanced technology, cardiac care and surgical skills, he performed the first heart transplant at his International Centre for Cardio-thoracic and Vascular Diseases, Chennai. This was made possible only after the legislation for brain death and the law permitting transplantation of human organs was passed in the country. With phenomenal experience and far-sightedness, he also conducted the first bilateral lung transplant, the first paediatric heart transplant as well as the first heart and lung transplant.
PRODUCT OF LABOUR
First test tube baby
The first test tube baby in India was born in Kolkata on October 3, 1978. Dr Subhash Mukhopadhyay claimed the child was the first through vitrofertilisation.
“Ridiculed by the scientific community, the physiologist is heading back to anonymity” (India Today, January 1980).
Tragically, he hung himself on June 19, 1981, while his contribution was finally recognised in 2005.
SWEET MEDICINE
First genetically-engineered vaccine
In 1997, Shantha Biotechnics, Hyderabad, founded by electronics engineer K.I. Varaprasad Reddy, launched India’s first genetically engineered vaccine for Hepatitis-B, at half the price charged by the MNCs in India.
LIFE GUARD
Organ transplant
The first successful liver transplant was performed on twoyear-old Sanjay Kandaswamy at the Indraprastha Apollo in Delhi in 1998.
The transplantation of solid human organs was undoubtedly one of the greatest medical breakthroughs of this century.
But still, the shortage of donors and organs has impeded the necessary thrust that is required to save more lives.
“In the West there is a 20 per cent acceptance rate of those agreeing to donate organs”(India Today, March 1996).
LINE OF SIGHT
Eye Transplant, 1998
Eye specialists Virendra Sangwan and Geeta Vemuganti at the L.V. Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, grew corneas in a petridish in 1998 using adult stem cells extracted from the oral mucosa of a patient and transplanted it to restore sight.
The pathfinding work promises to save huge sums incurred on immunosuppressants that patients have to take after the transplant.
TECH BEATS
Catheterisation Lab, 2002
The development of the indigenous cardiac catheterisation laboratory (Cath Lab) in 2002 to undertake a coronary angiogram and perform an angioplasty has cut back the cost of setting up such a facility as well as the fee that the patient pays for cardiac risk assessment and treatment.
With continuous technological advancements, the Cath Lab is becoming more flexible and offering a variety of features not just for imaging the heart but also for other areas of the human body.
SUSTAINING LIFE
Coronary Bypass Surgery, 2002
A team of surgeons at the Wockhardt Hospital and Heart Institute, Bangalore, led by Vivek Jawali, performed the first minimal invasive coronary bypass surgery in 2002 without putting the patient under general anaesthesia or ventilator support. The 78-year-old patient, a smoker, had multiple complications including diabetes, renal problem and blockages in the carotid arteries supplying blood to the brain. His lungs were unable to tolerate general anaesthesia and the multiorgan dysfunction made him unfit for the heart lung machine.
FIGHTING THE ODDS
Response Modifier Therapy, 2003
The therapy was introduced to boost or restore the ability of the immune system to fight cancer, infections and other diseases. It is also being used to lessen certain sideeffects that may be caused by some cancer treatments. Agents used in the therapy include monoclonal antibodies, growth factor and vaccines.
FUTURE PERFECT
Stem cell banking
Stem cell banking came of age in 2004 with the launch of the first family cord blood bank in India to usher in the revolutionary breakthrough of umbilical cord stem cell banking.
LifeCell in Chennai was opened with a tie-up with Cryo-Cell International, USA, the world’s biggest cord blood bank. The cells are banked for 21 years for a fee. “It doesn’t present an ethical dilemma unlike the umbilical cord which has always been discarded as biomedical waste” (India Today, June 2005).
CALL FOR HELP
Ambulance Service, 2004
The introduction of the well-equipped ambulance service in 2004 by the Emergency Management Research Institute, founded by B.Ramalinga Raju of Satyam Computers, is changing the paradigm in emergency care.
Access to the unique service is through the common number 108 in 12 states.The public-private partnership model of ownership and management makes it a sustainable system that is poised to outstrip similar services abroad. “The service has 652 ambulances taking victims to 3,300 registered hospitals” (India Today,November 2008).
