The patient who underwent Kerala’s first heart transplant surgery in Kottayam Medical College on September 14 died on Sunday due to the dysfunction of kidneys and liver.

Though he was healthy while leaving the hospital, he reportedly had internal bleeding.

The transplant surgery, which was first in a government run hospital in the state, was successful on 50-year-old Podimon hailing from Pathanamthitta district had received widespread media coverage.

The heart was harvested from the body of Vinaya Kumar, a 48-year-old accident victim, who was declared brain dead in the Lourdes Hospital in Kochi.

The heart transplantation surgery, which cost less than Rs. 2 lakh, had created a buzz in the state as these surgeries usually costs upward of Rs. 10 lakh in private hospitals. However his death has now led to despondency.