A big milestone for humankind in the field of science, indeed. Australian surgeons have successfully transplanted “dead” hearts into patients for the first time – a groundbreaking procedure with the potential to significantly boost the supply of donor organs. And one of them happens to be of Nepali origin, Dr Kumud Dhital.

It was announced on Friday that the cardiothoracic surgeon, along with the rest of his team at St Vincent’s hospital heart lung transplant unit in Sydney, had performed three transplants with donor hearts that had stopped beating for 20 minutes. Two of the patients who received the transplant have recovered well, while the third, who only undertook the procedure recently, remains in intensive care.The number of donor hearts has been minimal in the past due to the fact that they have had to be taken from brain-dead patients while the organ is still beating.

The team of researchers said the success heralded a “paradigm shift” that could sve the lives of 30% more heart transplant patients by increasing the supply of suitable donors.