It was a matter of just 12 minutes on Saturday when a heart was transported from Fortis Flt. Lt. Rajan Dhall Hospital in South Delhi’s Vasant Kunj to Medanta - The Medicity in Gurgaon via National Highway 8.

The 20-km journey ended at Medanta at 6.42 a.m. to reach the 49-year-old recipient from Kolkata.

Authorities at Fortis hospital said that the donor, a 45-year-old male, was unconscious when he brought in as an emergency by the police on Wednesday afternoon. He had sustained a head injury in an accident at Fatehpur Beri near Chattarpur.

“Despite efforts by the neurosurgery team, the patient could not be revived and was declared brain dead,” the hospital authorities said.

The process for donation was initiated after the family members consented and due clearance was obtained.

Clockwork precision

Abrar Ali Dalal, facility director at Fortis Flt. Lt. Rajan Dhall Hospital, said: “We thank the donor’s family for agreeing to such a noble act in their hour of grief. It was also the clockwork precision of all internal and external medical teams, which made this dream of a cadaveric donation a reality. The hospital had informed NOTTO (National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization) and taken police clearance as this was a medico-legal case.”

The NOTTO protocol and guidelines say that each hospital is required to inform it about possible cases of organ donation, after which the government body decides where each organ is to be sent based on a list of recipients.

According to the hospital-wise rota decided by NOTTO, the heart was sent to Medanta, one kidney was to be sent to Fortis Escorts Heart Institute (FEHI) while the second kidney was sent to Safdarjung Hospital.

The liver would be sent to Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurgaon.

Organ donation rising

“The organ donation rate in the country has increased 10-fold over the last five years. It has gone up from 0.05 per million population to 0.5 per million. People from all walks of life are saying ‘yes’ to organ donation. We are truly humbled by their noble gesture every time. With NOTTO fully functional, and regional and State machineries getting into the act, an organ donation rate of 1 per million by 2020 looks a distinct possibility,” said Dr. Avnish Seth, director, Fortis Organ Retrieval and Transplant (FORT).

The entire process of organ donation and transplant surgeries is meticulous, requiring counselling for the grieving donor family, quick and efficient coordination by the medical and administrative teams to speed up formalities and transport the donated organ quickly.

Police clearance is required in case of medico-legal cases, while support from the Traffic Police is equally critical in creating a “green corridor” for rapid transit.

Over the last two years, a heart has been transported in record time via the ‘green corridor’ process four times from FMRI, Gurgaon, thrice to Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, Okhla, and once to AIIMS.

The organ was transported between Fortis hospital in Vasant Kunj and Medanta in Gurgaon