Adult & Paediatric Cardiac Surgeon | Heart Transplant & Mechanical Circulatory Support Specialist
Secretary, Society for Heart Failure and Transplantation

Dr. Manoj Durairaj is a pioneering cardiac surgeon with over two decades of experience in adult and paediatric cardiac surgery, heart transplantation, and mechanical circulatory support. He holds an MS (Gold Medal) from AFMC, Pune University, an MCh from AIIMS, New Delhi, and an Advanced Fellowship in Cardiac Surgery from the University of Melbourne. He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology.

He successfully performed the first heart transplant in Pune, established two heart transplant centres in the city, and led the team that carried out the first successful LVAD implantation in Pune. Internationally, he is the first Indian surgeon to perform paediatric cardiac surgery in Nigeria, for which he received the Governor of Lagos Award, and has also conducted complex cardiac surgeries in Yemen.

Dr. Durairaj has served as President of the Indian Association of Cardiovascular-Thoracic Surgeons (2024–2025) and currently serves as Secretary of SfHFT (2025–2027). He is the Programme Director for Heart & Lung Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support at Sahyadri Hospitals, Pune, and Director of the Marian Cardiac Centre and Research Foundation, which provides advanced cardiac care to underprivileged patients.

His contributions have been recognised with several honours, including the “Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice” medal from Vatican City (2021), the Dr B. B. Dixit Award, and the Outstanding Citizen of Pune Award. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and actively leads national and international academic and research initiatives in heart failure and transplantation.