Dr Sanket Mehta, Surat's Braveheart Doctor Who Risked Own Life to Save Elderly Patient, Needs Urgent Lung Transplant; Netizens Raise Funds
Dr Mehta had won scores of hearts on August 9, when he saved the life of a 71-year-old man despite himself being on oxygen support. He was, on that day, admitted at the BAPS Hospital in Surat after his condition worsened due to the coronavirus infection.
New Delhi, September 13: Dr Sanket Mehta, the braveheart Surat doctor who risked his own life last month to save an elderly patient, requires an urgent lung transplant for survival. Over a month after being diagnosed with COVID-19, his condition was yet to improve. He was airlifted to Chennai on Saturday for the critical organ transplant at the MGM Hospital. COVID-19 Vaccine: Serum Institute to Resume Trials of Oxford-AstraZeneca Candidate After DCGI Nod.
Dr Mehta had won scores of hearts on August 9, when he saved the life of a 71-year-old man despite himself being on oxygen support. He was, on that day, admitted at the BAPS Hospital in Surat after his condition worsened due to the coronavirus infection.
Despite oxygen support, he decided to remove his high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) and rushed towards the senior citizen who required an intubation at the earliest. An intubation needs to be performed within 2-3 minutes, and in the absence of an anesthetist, the elderly patient may had turned brain dead on that moment if not for Dr Mehta.
"Though Dr Mehta could not walk properly, he went to the patient without HFNC and intubated him. It could have cost him his life, but he he saved the life of the patient," TOI had reported Dr Hiral Shah, vice-president of Surat Anaesthetic Association (SAA), as saying.
The elderly patient, however, succumbed to COVID-19 on August 12. In the next few days, Dr Mehta's condition also deteriorated, and the medics had to put him on ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation). Since then, the 37-year-old doctor has been battling for life.
Airlifted to Chennai For Lung Transplantation, Netizens Raising Funds
The donation for Dr Mehta's treatment is being collected online. One can also directly transfer the amount to the bank account number as shared in the tweet above. The fundraiser campaign is being coordinated by Dr. Hiren Shah (+91-9879573814), Dr. Jayesh Thakkral (+91-9825263969) and Dr. Sandip Patel (+91-9825549135).
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 13, 2020 01:18 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).