Mumbai : In less than a week of first successful heart transplantation in the city, a 29-year-old heart failure patient from Kalamboli admitted to Fortis Hospital in Mulund received a heart on Friday from a 63-year-old man who passed away at MGM hospital in Vashi.
This was possible because of a successful green corridor, which was created by Mumbai Traffic police wherein the heart was transported covering 19 kms from MGM Hospital in Vashi which reached Fortis hospital in a record time of 14 minutes.
The journey of the donor heart began after a due consent was taken from the donor’s family who agreed to donate and save a life. The ‘Green Corridor’ from Vashi to Mulund, moved the heart from MGM Hospital, Vashi, to Thane Belapur Road, to Airoli to Fortis Hospital in 14 minutes after being harvested. The usually busy 19 km route from Vashi was cleared by the traffic authorities so that the preserved heart could reach the Operation Theatre at Fortis hospital in a record time.
Mumbai Police had received the request to enable the ‘Green Corridor’ at 3.45 am on Thursday night and the authorities quickly swung into action, readying a route plan within just 20 minutes from the initial request being made, said traffic police sources. Dr. Anvay Mulay, chief of cardiac surgery at Fortis Hospital, said, “We have concluded the surgery and the patient is under continuous observation for the next 24-48hrs.”
Dr. S Narayani, zonal director at Fortis Hospital said, “With more and more people coming forward to support the cause of organ donation and with technology advancements to make this possible, many people waiting for a heart transplant can now hope that this becomes a reality.”
