Jose Chacko Periappuram
A Kochi heart surgeon who performed Kerala's first heart transplant and more than 20,000 open-heart operations, honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 2025.
Jose Chacko Periappuram brought heart transplantation to Kerala. In 2025 he was named for the Padma Bhushan in the field of medicine, from Kerala [1]. He had received the Padma Shri in 2011 [2].
Training in Ireland and Britain
Periappuram was born on 28 April 1958 [2]. He studied at St Thomas College, Pala, and Government Medical College, Kottayam, then trained as a surgeon in Ireland, where he was part of the first heart transplant team at the Mater Hospital in Dublin [2]. He trained further in cardiac surgery in Cardiff and in transplantation at Papworth Hospital and Freeman Hospital in England [2].
Firsts in Kerala and India
He began operating in India in 1997 and has led cardiac surgery at Lisie Hospital in Kochi since 2008 [2]. In 2003 he performed Kerala’s first heart transplant, and later the state’s first heart-lung transplant [2]. He has performed more than 20,000 open-heart operations, and is credited with India’s first heart re-transplant [2].
Beyond the operating theatre
He founded the Heart Care Foundation, which helps poor patients get advanced treatment, trains the public in CPR and held India’s first Transplant Games in Kochi in 2023 [2]. He is also an organic farmer who has promoted indigenous rice farming in his village [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2025: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2025: citation for Jose Chacko Periappuram — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
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