Gurgaon: Patients in North India battling end-stage heart and lung diseases will now have access to advanced transplant care closer to home. Artemis Hospital on Thursday inaugurated its new Heart & Lung Transplant Centre, which it claims is the first comprehensive facility of its kind in North India.The centre will be chaired by Dr. Sandeep Attawar, one of India’s leading thoracic transplant surgeons, who currently heads the transplant programme at KIMS Hospitals, Hyderabad. Dr. Attawar has been instrumental in building transplant programmes across the country, and his team has performed more than 650 thoracic organ transplants to date, including 479 double-lung, 127 heart, 58 combined heart-lung transplants, and 58 LVAD implants.Bridging a critical gapUntil now, patients from Delhi NCR, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Rajasthan often had to travel to southern cities such as Chennai, Hyderabad, or Bengaluru to access advanced transplant care. This not only increased the financial and logistical burden but also affected survival chances, given the time-sensitive nature of organ availability and the extensive follow-up care required.“By establishing the Heart & Lung Transplant Centre in Gurgaon, we are ensuring that families in North India no longer face the hardship of traveling far for a transplant,” said Mr. Onkar S. Kanwar, Chairman, Artemis Hospitals. “More importantly, our mission goes beyond survival — it is about restoring dignity, hope, and quality of life.”Dr. Devlina Chakravarty, Managing Director of Artemis Hospitals, said the centre would serve as a vital access point for patients across northern states. “We believe this centre will become a lifeline for patients from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi NCR and surrounding states who would otherwise have to travel far to access quality heart and lung transplant care,” she noted.A full spectrum of servicesThe newly inaugurated facility will offer heart, lung, and combined heart-lung transplants, along with advanced mechanical circulatory support systems like ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) and LVAD (Left Ventricular Assist Device). These can serve as either a bridge to transplant or as long-term solutions for patients with advanced heart failure or terminal lung disease.Artemis said the programme will provide comprehensive care starting with pre-transplant evaluations, through to surgery, post-operative monitoring, and long-term rehabilitation. The hospital has also created a system to help patients register across multiple states, increasing the likelihood of matching with suitable donors in time.Dr. Attawar said the centre’s location in Gurgaon gives it a distinct advantage. “At Artemis Hospital, we will combine a full transplant programme with the logistical, geographical and institutional advantages of Gurgaon’s proximity to the National Capital Region. This reduces travel delays, streamlines donor-recipient coordination, and improves outcomes,” he explained.India’s transplant landscapeIndia’s heart and lung transplant programme has steadily grown over the past three decades. According to the Indian Heart and Lung Transplant Registry, as of March 2023, the country had recorded about 1,328 heart transplants and 475 lung transplants, performed across more than 70 approved centres.In 2023 alone, 231 transplants were performed — 129 lung and 102 heart procedures. National survival rates remain encouraging, with one-year survival for heart transplants exceeding 85% and lung transplant survival hovering around the same mark.However, experts note that northern India still lags behind the south and west, where deceased donor programmes are more established. While living donor procedures have seen growth in the north, deceased donations remain comparatively limited. Artemis Hospital said its goal is to perform double-digit transplants in the very first year, positioning itself as a regional hub for advanced thoracic transplants.Raising the barThe centre is expected to not only perform complex transplant surgeries but also raise awareness about organ donation and set benchmarks in patient outcomes. Dr. Attawar, who is actively involved in global transplant forums, said Artemis aims to bring “global standards of care to North India, backed by both technical expertise and logistical readiness.”For patients in the region, the launch of this facility could mean shorter waiting times, reduced travel, lower costs, and better long-term support. For the healthcare system, it marks a step towards decentralising advanced transplant care and making it more accessible across the country.With its new Heart & Lung Transplant Centre, Artemis Hospital has positioned itself as a pioneer in northern India — offering not just survival but the promise of a restored quality of life for patients who once had few options close to home.
Artemis Hospital in Association with KIMS Launches North India’s First Dedicated Heart & Lung Transplant Centre
