Dr P Venugopal demise: Dr. P Venugopal, who created history by performing the first heart transplant in India, has passed away. He breathed his last late Tuesday evening at the age of 82. Dr. Venugopal has so many achievements in his name that it becomes difficult to count them. Dr. Venugopal, former director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, AIIMS New Delhi, while working as a cardiovascular surgeon in AIIMS, had also performed surgery on former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in a bullet-riddled condition.
Let us tell you that Dr. Venugopal started as an MBBS student in AIIMS at the age of 16. Where he was the topper of AIIMS. Not only this, after gaining expertise in cardiology, he made a historic contribution to the world of medical field by performing the first pacemaker implantation and heart transplant in India in the year 1994. After this he performed more than 50 thousand heart surgeries one after the other. In recognition of his services, the Government of India honored him in 1998 by giving him the country’s third highest civilian award, Padma Bhushan.
Before his death, Dr. Venugopal, along with his wife Priya Sarkar and daughter, had released the book Heartfelt based on the memoirs related to the treatment of patients other than Indira Gandhi in the year 2023.
On the death of Dr. Venugopal, not only Union Health Minister JP Nadda but also Faculty Association of AIIMS, RWA across the country, Federation of Resident Doctors Association etc. have paid tribute.
Set an example in his bypass surgery also
When Dr. Venugopal, who has earned worldwide fame, needed heart bypass surgery in 2005, instead of getting treatment abroad, he got the surgery done by his junior doctor at AIIMS itself. He believed that there are skilled and expert doctors in India also. This will increase people’s trust in treatment and institutions like AIIMS in the country.
Tags: aiims delhi, AIIMS director, Cardiac Arrest
FIRST PUBLISHED: October 10, 2024, 09:53 IST