Heart transplanted, chef tries to go global with racket

New Delhi: A 29-year-old man who had undergone a heart transplant at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) before the pandemic plans to participate in a badminton tournament at the World Transplant Games (WTG), scheduled for April 2023 in Australia’s Perth.

- Anuja.Jaiswal

Rahul Kumar Prajapati, who worked as a chef at Jodhpur House after completing his diploma in food and beverages, has now shifted his entire focus to badminton and winning a trophy at the international sporting event, which is organised exclusively for transplant athletes.

However, Prajapati is worried about how he will manage Rs 3.5 lakh required for the trip. “My medicines cost about Rs 30,000 per month,” he said, adding that his family is not well off financially.

His eldest sister died in 2002 due to heart failure at the age of 14. “The family was scared after we came to know that I also suffer from a heart ailment,” Prajapati said, adding that everyone was relieved to see him “fit and fine” after the transplant.