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Chandigarh: 2 lives saved as PGI goes extra miles to retrieve organs via road from Rishikesh
Paswan’s liver, pancreas, and one kidney were allocated to PGIMER; the heart was sent to the Army Hospital (Research and Referral) in New Delhi, one kidney to AIIMS New Delhi, and the lungs to Apollo Hospital, Chennai
Two patients at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) received a new lease of life on Friday as the hospital went the extra mile. This was achieved through the coordinated efforts of AIIMS Rishikesh, the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), and the traffic police via seamless organ retrieval, transport, and transplant.
The process began when the family of 42-year-old Raghu Paswan consented to donate his organs at AIIMS Rishikesh. Paswan had been declared brain dead on January 20 after sustaining severe head injuries. Subsequently, tertiary care hospitals, including PGIMER, collaborated for the organ retrieval and transplant procedures.
Paswan’s liver, pancreas, and one kidney were allocated to PGIMER. The heart was sent to the Army Hospital (Research and Referral) in New Delhi, one kidney to AIIMS New Delhi, and the lungs to Apollo Hospital, Chennai.
While PGIMER had previously received organs from AIIMS Rishikesh by air, this instance presented a unique challenge. Due to the simultaneous dispatch of all organs and a lack of available flights to Chandigarh, the team had to coordinate an interstate green corridor to transport the organs 246 km by road within a strict 12-hour window.
This marked the first time that organs were transported from AIIMS Rishikesh to Chandigarh via road using a green corridor. The renal transplant department, under the leadership of Dr Ashish Sharma, successfully performed the pancreas and kidney transplant within 11 hours.
Dr L Kaman, head of general surgery, stated, “A liver transplant team comprising Dr Swapnesh Kumar Sahu and Dr Shibojit departed from Chandigarh at 9 pm on Thursday for AIIMS Rishikesh, accompanied by a pancreas transplant team consisting of Dr Shivakumar Patil and Dr Praneeth.
“After nearly six hours of continuous travel, the teams reached AIIMS Rishikesh by 3 am. Organ retrieval began at 9 am on Friday and was completed by 12 pm, after which a green corridor was created to ensure the rapid transport of the liver graft,” Dr Kaman added.
Explaining the surgical strategy, Dr Ashish Sharma added, “To save time, one team of surgeons handled the retrieval from Rishikesh, while another team initiated the surgery at the PGIMER shortly before the organs arrived. The procedure began in the evening and concluded around 3 am.”
The pancreas and liver was transplanted into a 28-year-old woman who had been struggling with diabetes and requiring multiple daily insulin injections for eight years; she is reported to be stable after the surgery.
There are only a handful of institutes in the country performing pancreas transplants, and the acceptance rate for donor pancreases is merely 20%. Pancreas transplantation follows strict criteria: donors must be non-diabetic, between the ages of eight and 45, etc. In 2024, 30 pancreas transplants were performed nationwide, 14 of which were conducted at PGIMER.
Dr Ashish Sharma stated, “The pancreas is an extremely time-sensitive organ; retrieval and transplantation must be completed within a 12-hour window. We were stretched to the limit given the distances involved, but we eventually completed the surgery within that timeframe by dividing our teams. Dr Shivakumar retrieved the pancreas, while Dr Deepesh Kenwar initiated the recipient surgery while the organ was in transit.”
Dr Sharma added, “We have experience transporting nearly 10 such organs from various hospitals across North India, including AIIMS Rishikesh, AIIMS Jodhpur, and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, in addition to those retrieved from hospitals within the Tricity.”
