Pakistan hockey team former goalkeeper Mansoor Ahmed will be operated for a transplant of artificial valves at Karachi’s National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICV). He will be the first ever Pakistani to be implanted with a mechanical valve using the latest technology.
The announcement was made on social media after NICV tweeted on Monday. One of the leading heart transplant surgeons Dr Pervez Chaudhry will carry out the surgery for which NICV will bear the expenses. NICV has already ordered a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) from an American firm to be implanted in Ahmed soon.
Earlier, the World Cup-winning field hockey goalkeeper Mansoor Ahmed had refused the offer of having his heart transplant conducted in Pakistan.
“Pakistan does not have enough facilities, I want the transplant to be conducted in India,” Ahmed said.
The ailing sports star reached out to India last week and asked for help in securing a heart transplant — despite years of breaking the eastern neighbours’ “hearts on the field”.
The 49-year-old has been suffering for weeks from complications stemming from a pacemaker and stents implanted in his heart.
Ahmed has been a sporting icon in Pakistan since helping the country win the 1994 World Cup in Sydney with his penalty stroke save against the Netherlands in the final.
“I may have broken a lot of Indian hearts on the field of play by beating India in the Indira Gandhi Cup [1989] and in other events but that was sport,” Ahmed had told AFP in a recent interview, adding, “Now I need a heart transplant in India and for that I need support from the Indian government.”
Ahmed — who played 338 international matches, participated in three Olympics and various other high-profile events in a career spanning from 1986 to 2000 — said the visa could be a lifesaver.
