❤️ HEART DONATION – A BEATING GIFT OF LIFE

A Complete Awareness Guide by Before Death Foundation (BDF)

WHAT IS HEART DONATION?

Heart donation is the donation of a healthy heart from a brain-dead donor to a patient suffering from end-stage heart failure...

Unlike some organs, the heart can only be donated after brain death — not after natural death.

WHY HEART DONATION IS SO IMPORTANT

  • Medicines no longer work
  • Devices can no longer support the heart
  • Surgery is no longer possible

For such patients, a heart transplant is the only option.

WHO NEEDS A HEART TRANSPLANT?

  • Advanced heart failure
  • Dilated cardiomyopathy
  • Heart muscle damage after heart attack

WHEN CAN HEART DONATION HAPPEN?

Only after certified brain death.

  • Certified by authorized doctors
  • Family consent required
  • Donor stays on ventilator

HEART DONATION PROCESS – STEP BY STEP

STEP 1: Brain Death Certification

Doctors perform repeated brain tests.

STEP 2: Family Counseling & Consent

The family is sensitively informed.

STEP 3: Recipient Matching

  • Blood group
  • Body size
  • Medical urgency

IS HEART DONATION SAFE & ETHICAL?

Yes. It is governed under THOTA Act 1994.

  • No organ trade
  • Fair allocation
  • Legal & regulated

COMMON MYTHS ABOUT HEART DONATION

  • Myth: Doctors won’t save you
    Fact: They always try first.
  • Myth: Religion is against it
    Fact: All religions support saving lives.