49-year-old Preeti Unhale recently won a gold medal in badminton in the country’s first Transplant Games held at Kochi in Kerala. Unhale, who works as a staff member with the Organ Retrieval Banking Organization of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, is on a mission to promote organ donation and reach out to many people who share her story.

Unhale took up the mission to promote organ donation after she was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy about 22 years ago when a heart transplant was her only option to survive. She is currently India’s longest heart transplant survivor.

She says, “I am always thankful to the family who made the decision to donate their son’s heart when I had lost all hope of living again.” Before her heart condition in November 2000, Unhale was healthy when going to college and playing badminton.

Her health began to deteriorate to the point where even walking was difficult and she was barely able to stand. Unhale told Happiest Health that she has been given a new lease of life after her heart transplant surgery. “I consider January 23rd, 2001, to be my second birthday, as I received a donor’s heart,” she added.

Heart transplant surgery, the only option

Unhale, a native of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, remembers traveling to Delhi’s AIIMS to get a second opinion from the experts. She was brought to the hospital in a wheelchair after experiencing chest pain, fatigue, and palpitations so severe that she could not even walk. “The experts told me that my heart muscles were dilated, and my pumping capacity was decreasing,” she said.

Unhale was told that a heart transplant was her only option, but it was difficult to get a donor at the time. The doctors suggested that she stay at the hospital so that a heart transplant could be done as soon as they found a suitable donor for her. Fortunately, she was able to get a donor and undergo a heart transplant surgery at the age of 26. Unhale recalls: “When I woke up, I felt so much better. I could breathe without any problems. I even went on a vacation to Switzerland after few months, which I had always wanted to do,” she exhaled.

A care plan after the transplant is vital

After undergoing heart transplant surgery, Unhale is now living a normal life. However, she believes that she is responsible for taking care of her heart, as she received the heart of a young boy (14 years old) who was brain-dead after an accident. Individuals who undergo heart transplant surgery are usually immunocompromised. Thus, Unhale takes supplements to boost her immune system.

She also avoids eating oily foods from restaurants and prefers to eat fresh salads and coconut water. She loves sweets, but as she is advised to control her sugar levels, she tries not to eat too much sugar. She also wears a face mask when she leaves the house. “Fitness is important, and I recommend everyone to walk daily and do yoga for good heart health, however, experts advise against intense exercise,” she said.

Unhale cautions that post-heart transplant surgery, you need to be careful as it is common to experience a heart transplant rejection. This is when your immune system recognizes the donor’s heart and starts to reject it. “I have had a heart transplant rejection about 7 times since my surgery,” she said. If you have symptoms such as heart palpitations, shortness of breath, and swelling in your feet, it’s important to speak to a health professional, she explains.

She also provides counseling sessions for families who are on the donars list by giving them the confidence to donate their organs and save lives.