St. Paul’s cardiac surgeon exchanges four hearts for a transplant marathon within 60 hours – Daily Gaming Worlld

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Prem Sagar with his wife Nisa and daughter Sonia.

Francis Georgian / PNG

It was a birthday present that Prem Sagar had not expected and that he will never forget.

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On August 29, the day he turned 68, the Surrey grandfather received a new heart, one day after joining the donor list that B.C. Transplantation.

Sagar, who had suffered from viral heart problems for nine years and was about to get a mechanical heart, qualified because he was critically ill with a capacity of around 25 percent and the heart was adapting.

My heart was ticking and it could just stop at any time, said Sagar.

At home, he shares with his wife Nisa and one of three daughters, and Sagar becomes emotional when he tries to express the gratitude he feels for a stranger.

I sent a letter to the family, said Sagar. It was two weeks before Christmas. I thanked them for their hearts.

He got an answer immediately. I found out that it was a son. She was a single parent and told me that he saved six people by donating other organs, eyes, kidneys and lungs. It was very emotional.

His heart transplant was special for a couple of other reasons: it was one of 30 transplants performed in BC last year, and remarkably, it was the first of four transplants Dr. next 60 hours.

Cheung, one of two cardiac surgeons in St. Pauls, where all adult heart transplants have been performed since 1996, said he knew there were two more on deck when he started Sagars surgery. He has worked three times in a row, in 2016.

Dr. Anson Cheung from St. Pauls Hospital performed four heart transplants within 60 hours last fall.

Jason Payne /

PNG

He later became aware of the fourth donor and knew that he would also do this surgery because the other surgeon was gone.

We would never reject anyone, we would not pass the opportunity on to the patient, he said.

Cheung said he would eat and take a nap if he could go beyond the 2.5 days and take breaks by going out into the fresh air.

I even did open heart surgery during that time, he said modestly, adding that he had done more than one.

In the past five years, the number of heart transplants has steadily increased due to more available organs, which is due to the increased clarification by B.C. Transplantation, and unfortunately the number of healthy young hearts donated by people killed by drug overdoses, he said.

In addition, there is no age restriction for donors like in the past, as studies show that organ health is more important than their age, Cheung said.

There were 14 heart transplants in 2011, and the number rose to 28 in 2016, 19 in 2017, and 28 again in 2018, according to B.C. Transplantation. B.C. celebrated its 500th heart transplant in 2018, performed by Cheung, 30 years after the first.

By December 2, 14 patients were waiting for a heart and Sagar hopes that his story will encourage others to sign their cards.

He was grateful that he had withdrawn from the oil field and could be a husband, father of his three adult daughters and grandfather of his four-year-old granddaughter.

I am blessed, said Sagar. I dont really believe in spirituality, but I think there is someone who takes care of everyone.

Nisa said her husband has changed from a macho guy to a sensitive man who cries over television programs.

I pray to God every day, she said gratefully.

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St. Paul's cardiac surgeon exchanges four hearts for a transplant marathon within 60 hours - Daily Gaming Worlld