Dhaniram Baruah

Dhaniram Baruah
NationalityIndian
EducationMD; Glasgow University; Fellow, Royal College of Surgeons of England
Known forFirst pig-to-human heart transplantation
Medical career
ProfessionSurgeon
FieldCardiac Surgery
InstitutionsUniversity of Maryland Medical Center
Sub-specialtiesCardiothoracic surgery
Heart transplantation
Lung transplantation
Cardiac surgery

Dhaniram Baruah is an Indian heart surgeon from Assam, known for his work in the field of xenotransplantation. He is popularly known as India's Pig Heart Doctor.[1] On 1 January 1997, he became the first heart surgeon in the world to transplant a pig's heart in a human body.[2] Although the recipient died subsequently, it was a precursor to the first successful pig-to-human heart transplant performed 25 years later by Bartley P. Griffith in January 2022.[3] While Griffith used a genetically modified pig's heart, Barua had transplanted a normal pig heart.[4] Barua is also the founder of Dr Dhaniram Baruah Heart Institute & Research Centre.[5] He can only communicate through hand gestures after a brain stroke left him unable to speak.[6]

Experiments, claims and controversies

Throughout his career Barua has courted controversies due to his maverick ideas and unconventional methods.[7] The pig heart transplanted by Barua in his patient Purna Saikia worked for seven days, after which due to implications of infections, and the transplant was rejected by the recipient's body. Barua was sent to jail for 40 days in 1997 for negligence and violation of medical ethics. His clinic and research center was burnt down by an angry mob. He was also called a mad man and ostracised from the local community. But undeterred he continued his experiments, and claimed that successful transplantation of a pig heart in a human body was feasible. He later claimed damages from the Government for his humiliation and unjust treatment.[8] He also claimed to have found a cure for HIV/AIDS.[9][10][11]

Legacy

Barua claims to have cured 86 patients of HIV/AIDS for which no conventional medicine is available.[12] He has written a two-volume book titled "AIDS Reaching the Unreachable with Baruah Combat Genes".[13]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Dr Barua, India's Own Pig Heart Doctor". The Federal.com. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Pig Heart Transplanted in Human". The Hindu. 15 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Man Gets Genetically Modified Pig Heart". BBC. 15 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  4. ^ "25 Years Before US Heart Transplant Assam Doctor Had Tragic Outcome". Deccan Herald. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Dr Dhani Ram Baruah Heart Institute". Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  6. ^ Chakrabarti, Angana (7 August 2022). "175 dogs guard Assam's pig heart doctor who bangs desk to speak. Patients still lining up". ThePrint. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  7. ^ "The Infamous Cardiac Surgeon Dr Dhaniram Baruah". The Sentinel. 23 October 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Indian Xeonotransplant Surgeon Seeks Damages from Government". The Lancet Journal. 2 January 1999. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  9. ^ "Assam Cardiac Surgeon Claims Cure for HIV-AIDS". Business Standard. 29 February 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Assam Doctor Claims Cure for HIV-AIDS". The Indian Expressl. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  11. ^ Sharma, Dinesh C. (1999). "Indian xenotransplant surgeon seeks damages from government". The Lancet. 353 (9146): 48. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(05)74854-6. PMID 11657167. S2CID 54337165.
  12. ^ "Doctor in India Claims He Cured 86 Patients with HIV-AIDS". MedIndia. 17 January 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  13. ^ "Full Story of Dhaniram Baruah". 20 July 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2022.