Dr Sanjana Kochhar, a Liverpool GP who suffered multiple organ failure in October 2022, received an emergency heart transplant and was discharged on Christmas Eve. In August she and her husband Paul welcomed a baby girl, and Dr Kochhar later visited a red British Heart Foundation "living memorial" bench dedicated to her in Otterspool Park. She expressed deep gratitude to her donor, described the transplant as a "gift," and urged conversations about heart health and organ donation.
Liverpool GP Survives Emergency Heart Transplant and Welcomes Baby Girl
Dr Sanjana Kochhar said she hopes her living memorial bench in Liverpool will prompt people to talk to loved ones about heart disease and organ donation [British Heart Foundation]
Dr Sanjana Kochhar, a Liverpool-based general practitioner, has welcomed a baby girl after surviving a life‑threatening illness that led to an emergency heart transplant.
In October 2022, while still studying at university and aged 29, Dr Kochhar developed palpitations and severe breathlessness. Her condition rapidly worsened and she was admitted to hospital in a critical state, where she suffered multiple organ failure and was placed on the urgent transplant list. A donor heart became available and she received the transplant four weeks later; she was well enough to be discharged on Christmas Eve 2022.
Gratitude, Recovery and a Living Memorial
This August, Dr Kochhar and her husband Paul welcomed their daughter. Following the birth she visited a red "living memorial" bench dedicated to her by the British Heart Foundation in Otterspool Park, overlooking the River Mersey. The bench is one of 65 placed across the UK as part of the charity’s scheme to celebrate survivors of cardiovascular disease and to spark conversations about heart health and organ donation.
"I knew that I was dying and that was hard for me to process and hard to explain to people. I think at the start, when I was probably the sickest, it hadn't quite clicked that that was what was happening," Dr Kochhar told BBC North West Tonight on World Heart Day.
As a clinician, Dr Kochhar found it especially difficult to accept that another person’s death had made her survival possible. She has described the transplant as a profound "gift" and said she was grateful to have been able to contact the donor’s family and meet some of their friends.
Visiting the bench with family and friends, including her husband Paul and her young daughter, she said the memorial was a reminder of her journey and hoped it would encourage others to talk to loved ones about heart disease and organ donation.
Why this matters: Dr Kochhar’s story highlights the urgency of organ donation, advances in transplant care, and the impact of heart disease on young people. Her recovery and new motherhood offer a powerful message of hope and the importance of discussing donation wishes with family.
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