Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): In a major achievement for the state, four Green Corridors were set up – two in Jabalpur and one each in Bhopal and Indore – on Thursday to facilitate transportation of vital organs.
A heart was successfully flown from Jabalpur to AIIMS in Bhopal, while a helicopter transported a liver from Jabalpur to Indore’s Choithram Hospital.
This operation marks the first heart transplant conducted in a government hospital in the state.
Bhopal airport director Ramji Awasthi said that both the ambulance and chopper landed at Raja Bhoj airport and from here the organ (liver) was taken to Indore in another aircraft.
The journey began when Baliram, a 61-year-old man from Sagar, was injured in a road accident and subsequently declared brain dead at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College (NSCB) in Jabalpur.
Under the supervision of NSCB Superintendent Dr Arvind Sharma, a team of doctors coordinated the organ retrieval and transportation.
The heart was removed at 9:30 AM by Dr Ashish Sethi and transported via a Green Corridor to Dumna Airport. The heart was then sent by air ambulance to a patient awaiting surgery at AIIMS, Bhopal.
Meanwhile, the liver was removed shortly thereafter and taken to the helipad at Tilwara through another Green Corridor before being flown to Bhopal.
To ensure timely delivery, police were deployed along the route from 6 AM to 10 AM.
From Bhopal Dr Rakesh Bhargava, a member of the State-Level Authorisation Committee for organ donation, highlighted the significance of this event, stating that it is the first instance of a heart transplant taking place in any government hospital in Madhya Pradesh.
Previously, such procedures were only available at private facilities, often costing around Rs 10 lakh.
