The donor surfaced grievous injuries in a road accident, and was brought to Fortis Hospital in Noida where he was declared brain-dead.
A 55-year-old ex-servicemen who always wanted to dedicate his life for the country, has managed to give a second life to four people in the Capital, even after his death.
The donor surfaced grievous injuries in a road accident, and was brought to Fortis Hospital in Noida where he was declared brain-dead.
A green corridor was created between Fortis Noida and Fortis Escorts Heart Institute (FEHI), Okhla late night on Thursday with the cooperation from traffic police authorities at Ghaziabad, Noida and the Delhi Police.
The organs retrieved were heart, liver and kidneys. The donor’s heart was transported covering a distance of 22 kms in 16.20 minutes. The harvested heart left Noida at 11.50 pm and reached Delhi at 12.06 am.
Dr Z S Meharwal, Director, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, FEHI said, “The patient had been suffering from a severe heart condition for very long. Despite the multiple treatment solutions administered during the interceding years, his heart continued to deteriorate and a heart transplant became essential. The surgery was successful and the patient is stable now and responding well to the treatment. He will be under constant observation for the next 72 hours.”
While an increasing population, including youth, is growing susceptible to heart ailments with changing lifestyle, doctors say the country is not catching up on heart donations which could save several lives.
“India’s record when it comes to heart transplant is very dismal. One of the main factors is medical infrastructure and many times brain deaths in ICUs are not notified, thus losing precious time,” said Dr Balram Airan, Professor of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery at AIIMS.
“Besides, there are logistical constraints, when the harvested heart doesn’t reach in stipulated time through the green corridor,” Airan added. The premier institute performed the country’s first heart transplant at AIIMS on August 3, 1994.
Heart transplant is warranted for patients with end-stage heart failure or irreparable coronary artery disease. In this procedure, doctors replace the ailing heart with a healthy one harvested from a brain dead patient.
Dr Avnish Seth, Director, Fortis Organ Retrieval and Transplant (FORT) said, “The organ donation rate in the country is expected to increase from 0.05 per million population to 1per million by the end of 2016. Awareness towards organ donation has increased in major cities in the country and people from all walks of life are increasingly saying yes to donation. The other parts of the country also needs to adopt this noble initiative and be a part of organ donation cause.”
An ASSOCHAM study last year said Delhi was followed by Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru in terms of heart-related problems.
“Brain deaths occur in up to 30 percent patients who die of head injury or stroke, but go unrecognized or unreported,” added Dr Seth.
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