MUMBAI, Oct. 23 -- In a couple of days, Tanmay Shinde, 17, will walk out of hospital with a second chance at life - thanks to his new heart. Tanmay's surgery - Mumbai's first-ever paediatric heart transplant in a public charitable hospital - was performed at the Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children in Parel. While the hospital has been undertaking paediatric renal and liver transplants, this is its first heart transplant since it received its cardiac transplant licence in 2024. The son of a BEST bus conductor, Tanmay was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy and severe heart failure, a condition where the heart muscle is enlarged and weakens, reducing its ability to pump blood effectively. After being diagnosed in December 2015, he had reached a stage where regular medication offered no scope for improvement. Constant chest pain, breathlessness, and fatigue in the last 12 months had left Tanmay frustrated and agitated. Being in and out of hospital had also cost him a year in college. In December 2025, Tanmay's heart took a turn and he was brought to Wadia Hospital in critical condition. Doctors said a heart transplant was the only way forward. The surgery was performed on October 6, by a team led by paediatric cardiac surgeon Dr Biswa Panda. While the donor heart was being retrieved and transported, the recipient team prepared Tanmay for surgery. The total time from when the donor's heart stopped beating to when the transplanted heart began beating in Tanmay's chest was around three hours. The teenager remained in the ICU for a week after the surgery. Wadia hospital has a dedicated paediatric cardiomyopathy and heart failure clinic, where more than 370 children are currently undergoing treatment for cardiac issues. Nineteen of these children are being considered for cardiac transplant. After Tanmay, the hospital has listed three more children, aged between 7 and 15, for heart transplants. A major challenge in paediatric heart transplants is the shortage of suitable donor hearts. "Children with severe heart failure may remain on waiting lists because finding a heart that matches their size and medical requirements can be difficult," said Dr Panda. Child donors are few as most children succumb due to infections, which make their hearts unfit for transplantation. "In case of paediatric patients with dilated hearts, their bodies have created space to fit an adult heart. However, we avoid the hearts of donors aged above 40 for children since hearts above that age are susceptible to coronary issues in a few years time. Also, the parents have to consent to such a transplantation," said Dr Sumitra Venkatesh, paediatric cardiologist who manages the hospital's cardiomyopathy and heart failure clinic, Tanmay received the heart of a 22-year-old brain dead donor, "Having seen how organ donation can benefit families, we have decided to donate my own organs and even urge my friends and relatives to do the same," said the teenager's mother, Sujata. "We are very thankful to the donor family. My son had become very agitated. However, since the transplant, he has changed completely. Now he is cheerful and has been chatting with the hospital staff," she added. But the Shindes' troubles are far from over. Tanmay's 11-year-old brother Pranav has also been diagnosed with a genetic heart condition and is listed for a cardiac transplant by the Wadia hospital. Tanmay's father Ashok earns a modest salary as a BEST bus conductor and the family, from Ghansoli in Navi Mumbai, could not afford the surgery. All expenses - pre-surgery tests, the actual organ transfer costs, and the surgery and post-surgery treatments - were paid for by the hospital and its network including crowdfunding, said Dr Panda. The bill - around Rs.20 lakh....