Delhi Traffic Police team created the green corridorfor transportation of the lungs (Representational)
Lungs harvested from a brain-dead patient in Ahmedabad was on Wednesday transported to Delhi for life-saving transplant surgery, the organs being ferried via air and two green corridors on the ground, hospital authorities in New Delhi said.
The recipient was a 54-year-old man from Meerut, who has been suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) for many years, and the operation took place at a leading private facility in south Delhi, they said.
The green corridor was created between the Civil Hospital and the airport in Ahmedabad, and then the organs were flown via a flight, and then another green corridor was made between the IGI International Airport here and Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, hospital authorities said in a statement.
"The lungs were seamlessly transported, covering a total distance of 950 km in three hours," it said.
Given the criticality of an early transplant for success, safe passage was facilitated by authorities. This ensured the retrieved lungs to be transplanted within the critical eight-hour chest to chest period, Max healthcare authorities said.
The Delhi Traffic Police team created the green corridor for transportation of the lungs, which were brought here by air from Ahmedabad, at 10.30 am. The distance of about 20 km from IGI Airport Terminal-3 to Max hospital, Saket was covered within 16 minutes, police officials said.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic -- Southern and New Delhi Range) A K Singh said despite the engagement of the traffic staff in connection with the VVIP route and traffic regulations in peak hours, the green corridor from IGI to Max hospital Saket was provided and the lungs were transported successfully.
Max hospital authorities said swift action by the National Organ & Tissue Transplant Organisation. National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), Gujarat Police and Delhi Police ensured that the lungs reached the hospital in timely manner.
The donated lungs came from a 44-year-old man from Ahmedabad, who was declared brain-dead after brain haemorrhage, Max hospital said in a statement.
"The harvested lungs were flown down to Delhi in clockwork precision. The patient is a known case of COPD and he urgently required a lung transplant," said Rahul Chandola, Associate Director, Adult CTVS, Heart & Lung Transplant Specialist, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket.
A team of 15 doctors, led by Chandola, operated for over nine hours to successfully carry out the bilateral lung (both lungs) transplant, it said.