Dr P Veugopal, Who Conducted India's First Heart Transplant, Dies at 82

Dr. P. Venugopal, who created history for performing India’s first heart transplant and for operating on Indira Gandhi after she was shot, has passed away. He breathed his last on Tuesday evening at the age of 82.

The former director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, had once operated on former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi when she was brought in, critically injured from gunshot wounds. During that time, Dr. Venugopal was a cardiovascular surgeon at AIIMS. The former Prime Minister, however, succumbed to her injuries.

Dr. Venugopal started as an MBBS student at AIIMS at the age of 16. He had topped in his institute. After specializing in cardiology, he made a historic contribution to medicine by performing India’s first pacemaker implantation and heart transplant in 1994. He had performed more than 50,000 heart surgeries in his career. The central government had honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 1998.

In 2023, Dr. Venugopal, along with his wife Priya Sarkar, released their book ‘Heartfelt’ based on his memoirs related to the treatment of Indira Gandhi and other patients.

Apart from Union Health Minister JP Nadda, the Faculty Association of AIIMS and the Federation of Resident Doctors Association have paid their tributes on his demise.

It must be recalled that in 2005, when the renowned Dr. Venugopal required heart bypass surgery, he chose to undergo the procedure at AIIMS, performed by one of his junior doctors, rather than seeking treatment abroad.

Dr. Venugopal believed that India had skilled and expert doctors and his decision will boost public trust in the country’s medical care and institutions like AIIMS.