Indian hospital offers Pakistan hockey hero free heart transplant

A private Indian hospital has offered to perform a free heart transplant surgery for Pakistan’s World Cup winning hockey goalkeeper Mansoor Ahmed.

According to Times of India, Fortis Group of Hospitals has offered to register him for the transplant less than a week after the 49-year-old legend made an appeal to the Indian government to grant him visa on medical grounds.

Ahmed has been a sports icon in Pakistan since helping the country in winning the fourth World Cup at Sydney against the Netherlands.

“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 … now I need a heart transplant in India and for that I need support from the Indian government,” he said in an interview earlier this week.

“Humanity is paramount and I too would be obliged if I get a visa and other help in India,” said Ahmed.

“Once he gets a clearance from the government, we can get an assessment done to confirm whether he is fit enough to travel,” Dr S Narayani, zonal director Fortis Mumbai told an Indian media outlet.