Dr. Vijay Mahajan, the dear Chief Managing Director of Tagore Hospital & Heart Care Centre, Jalandhar, has been conferred the National Award for Community Service by the Indian Medical Association. Honoured as “Doctor of the Year Award” on Doctor's Day celebration at IMA Headquarters in New Delhi, the award is a recognition of two decades of his devoted health promotion and expert, humane service to the people.
A life dedicated
At the ceremony, IMA National President Dr. Dilip Bhanushali and Guest of Honour Dr. Anil Goyal praised Dr. Mahajan for his exemplary contribution to contemporary medical practice and his tireless community engagement. The award not only acknowledges his operative proficiency and clinical acumen, but also his passion to keep healthcare accessible and affordable, especially by way of village-based initiatives and public-health initiatives in Punjab and surrounding areas. Dr. Bhanushali referred to him as "a shining example of service done with compassion and competence", while Dr. Goyal pointed out the lasting impact he has left on North Indian cardiology and in the lives of many families.
Studied in a one-room school under the guidance of his grandmother, who loved learning above all else. Afterwards, a scholarship took him to the elite Government Medical College, Amritsar. He graduated with a gold medal, which he dedicated to the instructors who had guided him through in Bathri, Himachal Pradesh.
His career turning point was during his residency in a far-flung district hospital. There, he met a succession of patients whose lives were ruined by defective heart valves. It struck him as he realized that a cheap, simple replacement valve could turn everything around. With steely resolve, he started doodling a low-cost prosthetic valve on night shifts, driven by borrowed texts and gallons of tea.
After he had a functioning prototype, he worked with the engineering department of the hospital. They spent weekends in a makeshift machine shop, testing and perfecting the design. Their prototype was imperfect, but good enough to save lives. In the next few months, the valve was implanted in twenty-eight patients, each successful procedure a small but powerful victory.
Today, Dr. Mahajan directs a translational research laboratory in Chandigarh, where banks of 3D printers whir alongside stainless steel tables. He educates medical students that invention is born of empathy rather than laboratories. His valves now go to underserved units throughout India and are being tested in Africa and Southeast Asia. With each fresh heart they conquer, Dr. Mahajan is spurred to draw out the next fantasy, eternally restless, eternally thankful.
