Echoes of the heart

Remember Fikri? He was the first heart patient to be fitted with a mechanical heart, or more specifically a device known as IVAD, as a temporary measure till he gets a new heart. Fortunately, he got a new heart last December. One of my earliest blog entries was on Fikri, which can be read here.

Izza Aripin and I had a discussion with Fikri's mother this morning at my office. Insya-Allah, if everything goes well, we'll have a memoir on Fikri's experience out by next year. I believe Fikri's story is one that needs to be told, and needs to be read by everyone. It is a story with a heart that will touch everyone's emotions.

The National Heart Institute (IJN) meanwhile continues to make headlines. A 13-year old girl, Tee Hui Yin, has been fitted with a mechanical heart on 29 September. Hui Yin is the second heart patient to be fitted with IVAD. Like Fikri before her, the IVAD is a temporary measure until she gets a new heart from a donor.

That is why I cannot stress enough on the need to increase the number of donors. We have a lot of patients with end-stage organ failure, but unfortunately we don't have enough organ donors. Be an organ pledger, and help safe lives.