New Delhi: Lungs in India are now always and everywhere at receiving end. Plethora of factors is zeroing in on to fail them. Lung power is constantly being challenged and diminishing. Lung failure cases are on the steep rise. As if pollution and smoking were not enough, a new craze for vaping, action of inhaling and exhaling vapor containing nicotine and flavoring, among young India is exacerbating the lung situation. Pink lungs are rarity among people of India who reside in big cities.
Dr Arvind Kumar, chairman, Institute Chest Surgery and Lung Transplant at Medanta, talked at length about the grim lung situation developing in India after receiving award for the Institute he heads. The Institute has been bestowed the award for ‘Active Emerging Lung Transplant Centre in North India’ from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO). The award was presented by Smt. Anupriya Patel, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare during 14th Organ Donation day celebrated on 3rd August, 2024 at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre in Delhi.
Dr Kumar, a globally reputed lung transplant surgeon, paints a very grim and horrifying situation around lung health of India. According to him, the ecosystem around lungs in India and hazards looming large over them are very intimidating. Dr Kumar, who has 15 successful lung transplants to his credit in the first one and half year of the start of lung transplant at Medanata, is particularly extremely worried about the future lungs of young India given to the habit of vaping. According to him, the habit of vaping catching up fast among youth and young of India should be matter of great concerns.
This habit will end thousands teenagers up for lung transplant very early. He said vaping afflicted young people and teenagers who are coming to him for the treatment of its symptoms present a very worrisome picture of lung scenario in the country. They might become candidates of lung transplant very early as they attain the age of 30-35. Vaping is a scourge for those young people whose lungs have already been damaged by COVID. Such teenagers would take to vaping habit to their peril.
Dr Arvind kumar is worried about constant increase in numbers of lung failures in India. According to him, continuous viral infections namely COVID, Swine flu, SARS at intervals are worsening the condition of lungs already adversely affected by pollution. Studies have found high rate of lung damage in Indians after acute COVID 19. People who have recovered from COVID need to watch out for their lungs. India has huge respiratory disease burden.
Given the bleak scenario of lung health in India, lung transplant surgeons of India wonder where they would get healthy lungs for transplant from in times to come if situations of lung health do not improve. Chest surgeons of Metropolitan cities particularly vouch that they rarely see healthy lungs anymore. According to Dr Arvind Kumar babies birthed in Delhi are born smokers. According to him, healthy lungs have become a rarity in Indian patients, even among children and non smokers. Dr Kumar says in the start of his career in 1980s, he always saw pink lungs except in smokers but it is not any more. Thick polluted air we breathe in has turned all lungs black.
In this scenario, the need for lung transplant, which is well established in India, is also increasing.
Though treatment wise we are through decades of lung but it is no suitable time for lungs
In the middle of being happy about award from, Dr Arvind Kumar seemed visibly worried about the future of lungs in India.
