Silver lining: Woman lives 25 years with a donor heart

NEW DELHI: Preeti Unhale, 51, completed 25 years with a donor heart on Jan 23, 2026, becoming India's longest-living heart transplant survivor - a landmark considering that heart transplants were rare, donor awareness was limited and long-term survival remained uncertain when she underwent the procedure.Originally from MP, Unhale came to AIIMS in 2000 after exhausting treatment options at home and in Mumbai. She was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy - a condition in which the heart muscle becomes weak and enlarged, reducing its ability to pump blood effectively and leading to heart failure. She was told a heart transplant was her only chance. At AIIMS, she met cardiothoracic surgeon Dr P Venugopal and cardiologist Dr K K Talwar.

"For the first time, I heard the words, 'You will be fine'," she recalled. She stayed in Delhi for treatment - and has since lived here.

If you want life, take risks, says recipient

Dr Talwar told TOI that Unhale had arrived in an extremely critical condition. "She had married barely two and a half years earlier and came to us with hope after being refused everywhere else," he said. With little clinical guidance available at the time, doctors evaluated her extensively before a donor heart became available.

"For end-stage heart failure, transplantation is the definitive answer. Survival is around 85% at five years. She has completed 25," he said. The transplant, performed in Jan 2001 by using the heart of a brain-dead teenage donor, happened at a time when outcomes were uncertain. "There was no guidance then. Success rates were low, and there were hardly any survivors to talk to. People discouraged us, saying transplants don't last long.

But there was no other option," Unhale said. "If you want life - and a good quality of life - you take that risk." Her husband, an Indian Forest Service officer, sought a transfer to Delhi so that the family could stay close to AIIMS. "Family support was critical," she said. Life after transplant meant lifelong discipline. Unhale takes daily immunosuppressants and has faced multiple rejection episodes, including a major one in 2006-07 when she had to be rushed to AIIMS late at night. Over the years, she developed kidney problems, steroid-related bone damage, vascular necrosis and facial paralysis - each managed with sustained medical care. "This survival isn't mine alone," she said. "It belongs to doctors, nurses, technicians and even sanitation staff. It takes a system to save one life," she said. Preeti Unhale has counselled heart transplant patients across India, helping bridge the information gap she once faced.

Her message is unequivocal: "If doctors advise a transplant, there is no other option. Donors are rare - if you get one, say yes immediately. Live fully, but with discipline. We have been given a second chance."