How A 23 Year Old Youth Saved Lives Of Many Across India Even As He Died

Pune became a part of an Interstate transplant for the first time on 26th April when the heart of a 23-year-old youth, who died in a road accident, was rushed from Ruby Hall Clinic to the airport and flown to AIIMS, New Delhi. The recipient was a 24-year-old youth, who was suffering from a heart ailment for the last four years. In just six-and-a-half minutes, Pune traffic police created a green corridor on Tuesday afternoon where the heart of a 23-year-old youth, who died in a road accident, was rushed from Ruby Hall Clinic to the airport and flown to AIIMS, New Delhi. In normal traffic it takes around 29 minutes to cover that distance of 7.8kms. Two assistant commissioners of police, one police inspector, four assistant inspectors and 32 traffic cops were part of the effort.

The donor was travelling in the backseat of a car when it met with an accident near Shirur in Pune district on 20th April. Despite the best efforts to save him, he was declared brain dead on Monday. After which, a multi-organ surgery was performed to retrieve six organs on Tuesday afternoon at Ruby Hall Clinic after a three-hour long surgery. Interestingly, it is also the first case in the city where six vital organs have been donated by the deceased. While the heart was flown to AIIMS, the liver was transplanted in a 64-year-old woman at the hospital itself. While one kidney was used in a transplant operation for a 49-year-old man at Ruby Hall, the other was sent to Aditya Birla Hospital. Two corneas were also donated.

The heart transplant surgery started at AIIMS around 5:30 pm and got over by 9:30 pm. The patient is reported to be stable. Though it was the first interstate transplant from Pune, it was the second case of a heart being sent for transplant from Pune. The first case was that of a 42-year-old woman whose heart was sent for a transplant to Mumbai in August last year. Maharashtra had also seen its first successful interstate organ transplant in January this year when the heart of a brain dead man from Surat was flown to Fortis, Mulund.

The logical Indian appreciates the efforts of the doctors, traffic police and airport officials in ensuring the success of the transplant. We also applaud the family for their decision to donate organs and bring light in the life of many patients.

– Sumedha Mahajan