Chennai: In a first of its kind attempt, a heart was flown in to Chennai from over 2,184 km to be transplanted in a patient who was ailing with end-stage heart failure at Gleneagles Global Hospital.
Kanchan Lal (name changed) a civilian in the Indian Airforce, Delhi, had met with a road traffic accident on Tuesday, and sustained severe head injuries. He was rushed to the R and R Army Hospital at New Delhi for treatment. However, he was declared brain dead early on Wednesday morning. His family members agreed to donate his organs to save other lives.
“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 the state. However, the only fear was the distance,” said Dr. Sandeep Attawar, Director and Chair of Heart Failure and Transplant Program, Gleneagles Global Hospital. “A donated heart must be implanted into the recipient within four hours of its retrieval. Average flying time between Delhi and Chennai is two hours and 40 minutes. This is where different government and private entities came forward to support this noble cause,” he added.
