Second-Hand Pacemakers Give Hope To Indian Patients
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Second-Hand Pacemakers Give Hope To Indian Patients
On first sight, there is nothing new about using pacemakers in patients suffering from different heart rate abnormalities as a very common medical procedure. What is really unusual is that this particular pacemaker was used by another patient in the past.
The sixty one year-old patient from Mumbai instead of a new pacemaker, received for free a reconditioned device, that was used by a patient who passed away in the U.S.
Pawar is one of the many patients from India who received a free pacemaker, thanks to a colaboration between the United States and the Holy Family Hospital in Mumbai. The Mumbai hospital runs a program dedicated to helping its poorest patients.
Other medical equimpemet such as coronary stents or implantable defibrilators were also provided by Daniel Mascarenhas Indian-born cardiologist who runs the program. All these medical devices donated to the Mumbai Holy Family Hospital were either pre-used by patients and removed after their death or were past their expiry dates.
Mascaras and his colegues from Texas Health Science Center presented their scheme in the American Journal of Cardiology in Octomber.
Pacemaker Device
From 2004 , a total of 53 sterilised and reconditioned devices were shipped from the U.S funeral homes and have been used to help poor patients in India. Thirty four patients received their first device while sixteen required a replacement. There were no infection cases follwing these procedures and no device malfunction was reported proving this procedure risk-free.
On the other hand this scheme bring into light the precarious situation of the health system in India where nearly 1,2 billion people are relying on a exhaused public health system with hospitals overcowded by patients. Indian families with low incomes are still foreced to borrow money from banks in order to cover different medical fees.
A brand new pacemaker in India costs about 150.000 rupess (that is about 3.000 US Dollars) and has an utilization period of ten years, making it impossible to afford for most people. The need for these devices is overwhelming and many patiens actually face a high morbidity due to costs and lack of equiment.