Ahmedabad, Aug 27: EPIC Multispecialty Hospital, a leading 280-bed hospital situated in the heart of Ahmedabad, on Wednesday announced a clinical partnership with Chennai-based MGM Healthcare to strengthen its existing heart–transplant programme and advanced heart-failure care. Under the arrangement, MGM Healthcare’s heart–transplant specialists will be available at EPIC for heart–transplant surgeries, while the two institutions will also collaborate on Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) implantation for eligible patients.
EPIC is an approved centre for heart transplantation and has already performed heart–transplant surgeries. The partnership will add MGM Healthcare’s specialised expertise in heart transplantation and advanced heart-failure management to EPIC’s existing clinical capabilities.
The development comes as heart–transplant activity in Gujarat has increased in recent years. According to National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) data, Gujarat recorded 13 heart transplants in 2021, 20 in 2022, 29 in 2023, 33 in 2024 and 36 in 2025. India recorded 153, 243, 221, 253 and 239 heart transplants respectively during the same period.
Gujarat’s share of India’s heart transplants rose from 8.50 per cent in 2021 to 15.06 per cent in 2025. Between 2023 and 2025, Gujarat accounted for 98 of the 713 heart transplants recorded nationally, representing 13.74 per cent of the total.
Dr Anil Jain, Founder Director, EPIC Multispecialty Hospital, said, “EPIC has an established heart–transplant programme, and this partnership will strengthen the specialist expertise available to our patients. Having MGM Healthcare’s transplant specialists at EPIC will add further depth to the clinical management of complex transplant cases. The two institutions will also work together on LVAD implantation, providing an important treatment option for eligible patients with advanced heart failure.”
Dr K. R. Balakrishnan, Chairman – Cardiac Sciences and Director, Institute of Heart & Lung Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support, MGM Healthcare, Chennai, said, “Patients with advanced and end-stage heart failure may require different forms of advanced therapy depending on their clinical condition, including heart transplantation or mechanical circulatory support. The clinical decision-making involves careful assessment, optimisation and multidisciplinary management. Through this partnership, our specialists will work with the EPIC team on heart–transplant procedures as well as LVAD implantation for eligible patients. This will bring our experience in advanced heart-failure and transplant care to patients from Gujarat and neighbouring states at EPIC.”
For patients with advanced heart failure, LVAD implantation can provide mechanical circulatory support when conventional treatment is no longer sufficient. In patients who are candidates for transplantation, an LVAD can also serve as a bridge to transplant while their candidacy is being evaluated or while they await a suitable donor heart.
Notably, Dr K. R. Balakrishnan has more than three decades of experience in advanced heart-failure management, heart transplantation, LVAD implantation and mechanical circulatory support.