Donor Heart Received By Recipient In 16 Minutes Thanks To Green Corridor

The dexterity of traffic police saves the life of an ailing 54 year old heart patient in Delhi. According to the report, the heart from a 22 year old accident victim, after being declared brain dead, was harvested and transported in a special box from Rajasthan by a special team of doctors in a chartered plane. The distance of 241 km from Jaipur to Delhi was covered in 56 minutes.

The patient who is originally from Gorakhpur, was said to be in critical condition due to complications from multiple heart failure. He was told by doctors that a transplant was the only option. He was on the transplant list of Fortis Escorts Heart Institute for the past two months and continued to wait for his turn.

The number of patients on transplant waiting list have risen in the recent past. The annual requirement of hearts in India is estimated to be 50,000. "It has been estimated that there are about 19 million patients with heart failure with 1.5 million new cases per year,"says Dr KM Cherian, CEO and Chairman, Frontier Lifeline, Chennai and the pioneer of heart transplant in the private sector.

Worldwide, a total of 4,096 heart transplants (including 3,529 adults) from 249 centres were performed in 2011 and reported to the International Registry for Heart and Lung Transplantation.

It is also important to note that the mortality in heart failure patients is as high as 30-40 per cent, within a year of diagnosis. In India, the treatment for heart failure is restricted to medical therapy, revascularisation therapy (restoration/augmentation of blood supply to the heart), valvular surgeries and cardiac resynchronisation (heart pacing) therapy.

Meanwhile, a green corridor, sans red lights to ensure transportation in minimal time, was set up by the Delhi traffic police from the Indira Gandhi Airport to New Friends Colony, where the hospital is located. The distance of 18.2 km was thus covered in a matter of 16 minutes which resulted in the timely delivery of the organ.

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Source-Medindia