Daijiworld Media Network- New Delhi

New Delhi, Sep 4: In an extraordinary display of medical coordination and speed, a donor heart was transported from Chandigarh to New Delhi in just 1 hour and 55 minutes through green corridors, enabling doctors at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital to perform a life-saving heart transplant on a 39-year-old man from Meerut.

The patient, suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy with severe mitral valve leakage, had been battling worsening breathlessness for the past four years and required repeated ICU admissions. When his condition deteriorated further in August, he was shifted to the Delhi hospital and placed on advanced life support medications. He was registered with the National Organ & Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) for a heart transplant on August 9.

On the night of August 26, NOTTO informed the hospital of a suitable donor heart in Chandigarh. The retrieval team rushed to secure the organ, flying it back to Delhi on a commercial flight. Green corridors were created in Chandigarh city, at both airports, and across Delhi, ensuring the organ’s arrival in record time.

A specialised team led by Dr Sujay Shad, Senior Consultant & Director of Cardiothoracic & Vascular Surgery, carried out the complex transplant. The patient, supported on a heart-lung machine, underwent surgery where his diseased heart was replaced with the donor organ, which began functioning satisfactorily soon after.

Post-surgery, the patient was weaned off the ventilator within 18 hours and resumed normal meals and light activity within days. Doctors expressed confidence about his long-term recovery.

“This transplant was possible only due to the seamless coordination of NOTTO, retrieval and transplant teams, and the creation of green corridors across two states. The rapid transfer of the organ within under two hours was pivotal to the success,” said Dr Shad.