Heart flown 350kms for transplant, helicopter lands at Chennai college to save 33yo

In what is said to be a first, a helicopter carrying a human heart landed at a college ground within Chennai city limits, to give a new lease of life to a 33-year-old who was battling end-stage heart failure, at the MGM hospital near the college. Generally, organs meant for transplant are flown to the city airport and then transported to hospitals via ambulance through a specially cleared route known as a 'green corridor'.

The heart meant for transplant belonged to a teenage boy, who sustained a traumatic brain injury in a road accident, and tragically succumbed to his injuries and was declared brain-dead on the morning of Friday, (Dec 26), at Thanjavur, about 350 km away from Chennai. With the consent of his family, his heart and small intestine were retrieved for transplantation from Thanjavur government hospital.

To save the life of a 33-year-old patient from Maharashtra with end-stage heart failure, the team at MGM Healthcare, Chennai, decided to transport the precious organ by a special helicopter from Thanjavur to Chennai city. The helicopter landed at the grounds of D.G Vaishnav College, which is a few kilometres away from the MGM hospital. A green corridor set up by the Chennai police then facilitated the speedy transport of the organ to the hospital.

According to MGM, the green corridor had ensured that the heart reached the hospital two minutes, following which the transplantation procedure was carried out by a team headed by Dr. K R Balakrishnan, Director of the Institute of Heart and Lung Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support at MGM Healthcare, the transplant was performed with great success, offering the recipient a new lease of life.

In a statement, MGM Healthcare extended heartfelt appreciation to D.G. Vaishnav College, Chennai Traffic Police, the helicopter operator, and the Tamil Nadu Government's Transplant Authority TRANSTAN for their invaluable support. The rapid organ transportation, coupled with the expertise of the medical team, exemplifies the incredible progress made in organ transplantation and highlights the potential for further advancements in the field, it added.