• Thursday, March 28, 2024

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Meet Sudhir Choudhrie, One of the World’s Longest Living Heart Transplant Patients

More than 20 years ago, Sudhir Choudhrie got a second chance at life when he underwent a complicated, emergency heart transplant surgery at Columbia University Medical Centre in New York City. His surgeon was Dr. Mehmet Oz, a name most people recognize from his syndicated television show, “Dr Oz”. The 11th-hour surgery saved Choudhrie’s life and inspired him to help give back to the community and the country that helped him when he was at his lowest point. Choudhrie, now 70 years old, has not only lived, but thrived since his surgery, making him one of the longest-living heart transplant patients alive today.

Born in Delhi, India, Choudhrie’sfather died when he was young and he was raised by his mother with an assist from his grandfather, a real estate developer. Deciding against entering his family’s real estate business, Choudhrie started his own business, importing electronics needed for India’s growing television network. In 1975, he founded the Magnum International Trading Company Ltd, an import and export company. He has since worked with and led several prominent Indian companies and served on several corporate boards. The United Kingdom’s former Prime Minister Theresa May awarded him the Asian Business Lifetime Achievement Year Award in 2013.

Choudhrie grew to become one of the wealthiest and most well-respected businessmen in India. He did so despite being partially blind and having a heart condition since his childhood. When he was eight, Choudhrie was diagnosed with a rare condition where his heart skipped a beat because of a leaking heart valve. His condition led to a lifetime of health problems. Eventually, after he collapsed several times and his heart had to be re-started twice, it was clear that Choudhrie needed a transplant if he were to live.

After his transplant, Choudhrie adopted the United Kingdom as his home. Fifteen years ago, he established The Choudhrie Family Foundation with his family. The foundation supports medical, health and educational projects in the United States, the United Kingdom and other parts of the world.

Choudhrie calls his operation more of a life transplant than a heart transplant. He says he feels younger now, at 70, than he did in his 40s. He also feels more connected with the planet and its people. When he’s not working, Choudhrie enjoys collecting Indian art and refinishing vintage automobiles. He has one of the largest vintage car collections in India.

Sudhir and the Choudhrie Family Foundation

Not long after his recovery from his heart surgery, Sudhir Choudhrie became involved in supporting Columbia Hospital, the medical center that performed his life-giving surgery. In 2009, he and his wife donated more than two million dollars to fund the Sudhir Choudhrie Professorship of Cardiology in Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. This subsequently led to the formation of the Choudhrie Family Foundation. Today, Choudhrie and his two sons sit on the hospital’s advisory board. More recently, the Choudhrie Family Foundation helped make possible the Choudhrie Family Foundation Student Lounge in the new Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center at Columbia University Medical Centre. Choudhrie speaks to his philanthropy by saying, “I feel immense gratitude to the doctors at Columbia who saved my life and to the family of my donor.”

The Choudhrie family’s goals in creating the non-profit Foundation were to support medical research and education and to be a resource for families and patients facing the prospect of an organ transplant. In 2019, the foundation supported a new HealthCorps campaign to educate teens about the importance of organ donation, a project created by Dr. Oz.

Choudhrie has also authored a book about his life and his experiences, “From My Heart”, which is available from Amazon and other online booksellers. All US proceeds from Mr. Choudhrie’s book are automatically donated to the foundation.

It’s not every day that a man gets a second chance at life. Sudhir Choudhrie seems to have embraced that lesson and used his time and financial resources to help the people who helped him.

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