A harvested human heart was "expeditiously" sent from Nagpur to Pune on Wednesday morning to be transplanted into a recipient admitted to the Army Institute of Cardio-Thoracic Sciences (AICTS), said a defence release.
The vital organ was sent through a green corridor created by the civil administration before being transported to Pune, over 700 km away, on an Indian Air Force (IAF) AN-32 aircraft in the "most expeditious" manner, it said.
The recipient is a "39-year-old air warrior and the flying time was around 90 minutes", said an official.
A green corridor is created with the aim of expediting organ transplants and saving lives. For a green corridor, the traffic department collaborates to transport a vital organ in less than 60 to 70 per cent of the time that is usually taken to go from one place to another.
On July 7, AICTS accomplished its fourth successful heart transplant. The donor's heart was received from DY Patil University & Hospital located in Pimpri. The recipient of this life-saving transplant is an esteemed Army Veteran.
Ensuring a seamless and timely operation, the Southern Command Provost Unit and Pune City Traffic Police had jointly established a green corridor. This proactive measure enabled swift transportation of the donor's heart from Pimpri to AICTS in Pune, facilitating an effective response to critical medical needs.