Arun Joshi
It was not an ordinary story of heart transplant of a Pakistani teenager from Karachi at a Chennai hospital in Tamil Nadu , that’s why it has been hailed as “ India’s medical magnanimity.” This is story of human bonds and the help that India and its doctors are capable of providing to the patients without caring for the nationality. These human values have been widely appreciated in Pakistan , and many have started seeking a hope of more such interactions once the 2024 Lok Sabha polls are over in June
Ayasha Rashan, 19 -year girl from Karachi Pakistan was suffering from leak in heart valve , having difficult times breathing . It all happened when she suffered a cardiac arrest in 2019 .She needed a heart transplant , and there were no such medical facilities around her. An aged donor’s heart was available in India , and doctors took the risk of going in for surgery giving age difference a backseat. They were successful in their surgery , and Ayesha can breathe easily now.
The cost of the heart transplant Rs. 35 lakh was borne by an NGO Aishwarya Trust , a Chennai-based NGO and the hospital – Institute of Heart and Lung Transplant , MGM Healthcare . Ayasha’s mother Sanobar , a single mother had no money, no resources to bear the expenses of the surgery . The duo arranged money to arrive at Chennai , the rest of the things were arranged by the hospital .
The way she was treated in India has won many hearts in Pakistan . One of the leading newspapers of the country “ The Express Tribune” devoted an editorial to this magnanimity of Indian doctors , NGO and the Government , titled “ Indian Medical Magnanimity”. This editorial itself is a masterpiece of gratitude and hope , as it noted : “ The details of the transplant in Chennai makes one hold the breath in a nail-biting situation.”
This is a story , much different from the usual optics of returning of youngsters and elders who stray deep into each other’s borders. This mostly happens in Jammu and Kashmir, where the people of all ages crossover to each other’s side inadvertently . They are released and returned with gifts in their hands after proper verification . But Ayasha’s story is that of a struggle that the medical community of India ended with the surgery. Ayasha is fine now , and she has no words to express her gratitude to India, its doctors and all others who facilitated her surgery .
Another leading newspaper of Pakistan , Dawn commented on the surgery , highlighted by what it called the media outlets close to the Indian government , saw a ray of hope in this. It saw in it “something more than what meets the eye. “This gets translated into the possibility of improvement in the relations between India and Pakistan , the two countries that are caught in a frame of mutual hostility at the moment .
The Express Tribune’s editorial reflected on many things between the two countries as it wrote : “ A successful heart transplant of a Pakistani teenager in India is a telling tale of magnanimity and medical excellence “ . It hailed India as a “ hub of innovation and inexpensive surgical procedures, especially heart and lung transplantation.”. At the same time, it added : “ It has brought to fore the ned for such interactions across the great divide.”
There is a hope in Pakistan that once the elections are over in India, there is a possibility of Modi showing magnanimity in softening tone and tenor toward Pakistan , to improve relations between the two countries . Pakistani leadership has been stressing on the need to foster better ties with India. This surgery has brightened their hope.
Arun Joshi is author of “Eyewitness Kashmir; Teetering on Nuclear War and senior journalist based in Jammu and Kashmir, writes on South Asian affairs)
Disclaimer: This is the personal opinion of the author. The views expressed in this write-up have nothing to do with www.prameyanews.com.
