Gurgaon: In a rare event, a live heart travelled 32 km between two top private hospitals in Delhi and Gurgaon in exact 27 minutes and 56 seconds, cruising past the usually choked MG Road and BRT corridor. The organ which was donated by a brain dead patient at Fortis Memorial Research Institute in Sector 44, was transplanted on a patient at Fortis Escorts hospital in Okhla. The feat was only achieved by the remarkable effort and determination shown by Delhi and Gurgaon traffic cops who joined hands to save a life. This is the second time when police from both the cities have coordinated for a noble cause. The heart of a young 30 year old was transported between the same hospitals in under 29 minutes in early January.
The stretch had multiple busy crossings, worse than usual the particular day due to the premier of Gurmeet Ram Rahim's new film, but the green corridor created by the police helped complete the feat. “A large force is deployed to manage traffic and people coming in from outside the city. However, saving a life is way more important and we have chosen the MG Road to reach Delhi where we expect lesser traffic than NH-8,” said ACP traffic, Hawa Singh.
Dr Atamjot Grewal, FMRI medical director, said, “The heart can remain outside for not more than four hours. As soon as the heart is harvested, surgery begins to keep the recipient’s chest open for the transplant.” In 2013, 815 organ transplants took place in the country, out of which 63 were in NCR, against none about a decade ago.
