In the first ever long distance (2,000 km) tissue donation in India, heart of a deceased civilian from Delhi was flown to Chennai to save an old man.

‘City Traffic Police of Chennai, took the responsibility of safely delivering the heart, within 36 minutes to the Gleneagles Global Health City at Perumbakkam.’

The transplant co-ordination team at Gleneagles Global Health City received an alert about the availability of a suitable donor in Delhi, from the TRANSTAN, the apex body that governs Organ transplantations in Tamil Nadu. 




The R & R Army hospital, took up the responsibility of 'harvesting' the organ and rushing it to the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, with the support of the Delhi Traffic Police, who created a 'green-corridor' for the smooth transit of the organ from the hospital.
The organ was taken aboard a Jet Airways flight, which took-off at 4:12 pm from Delhi. The aircraft landed safely at the Chennai International airport at 6:50 pm, from where the Chennai City Traffic Police took over the responsibility of safely getting the heart, within 36 minutes by 7:26 pm, to the Gleneagles Global Health City at Perumbakkam.
Dr Sandeep Attawar, Director and Chair of Heart Failure and Transplant Program, Gleneagles Global Hospitals Group, and his team of doctors successfully implanted the donated heart in a patient who was ailing with end-stage heart failure.
Dr Attawar on this note said, "We were informed about a heart that was available for Transplant by TRANSTAN this afternoon about 1:15 pm at R&R Army Hospital in Delhi. Since we needed a heart for a patient at Gleneagles Global Health City we responded and embarked on something that was never tried in India before.
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Adding, "The DGCA and airport authority in Delhi as well as Chennai played a monumental role in helping the heart reach us safely. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Brigadier Sood of R&R Army Hospitals, the Chennai police, the various other private and government agencies that have helped us save our patient's life."
Source-ANI