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Army veteran donates heart to save life of fellow soldier’s wife in Pune
In a first of its kind in Armed Forces Medical Services(AFMS), the Army Organ Retrieval and Transplant Authority (AORTA) coordinated an inter-hospital transfer of a heart for transplant on February 11
PUNE An army veteran from Madhya Pradesh who suffered serious injuries in an accident donated his organs to several beneficiaries, including wife of a serving soldier in Pune.
In a first of its kind in Armed Forces Medical Services(AFMS), the Army Organ Retrieval and Transplant Authority (AORTA) coordinated an inter-hospital transfer of a heart for transplant on February 11.
The organ donor was a 40-year-old veteran who was involved in a road accident on February 8 in Bhind, Madhya Pradesh when he was hit by a two-wheeler.
He was taken to a local civil hospital where he was put on life support and was brought to Army Hospital, Research & Referral (AHRR), New Delhi on February 9. He had a severe head injury and was declared brain dead on February 11 by the critical care team of AHRR.
The family of the veteran voluntarily decided on multiple organ donations said the transplant coordinator with AORTA.
According to a press release from Army Institute of Cardio Thoracic Sciences, the 29-year-old wife of a serving soldier, suffering from a weak heart was waiting for a suitable heart organ donor for the last six months.
Commandant AICTS said that she was suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy with recurrent ventricular tachycardia. “She had an implanted device which was automatically delivering shocks to her heart repeatedly to keep its rhythm in check. She required a new heart to prolong her life and the team at AICTS was waiting to find a suitable one for her,” the release stated.
The medical branch of Southern Command coordinated the transfer of donated heart from AHRR with help of Western Air Command.
In an inter-service coordinated action, carried out with military precision, in little over four hours, the organ was retrieved by heart surgery team at AHRR, transported through a green corridor to waiting Indian Air force Aircraft at New Delhi specially dedicated to this effort, flown to Pune and transported by a green corridor to AICTS, Pune established by Southern Command Provost unit in coordination with Maharashtra state police and traffic police.
The head of the cardiothoracic surgery at AICTS and his team of surgeons and anaesthesiologists transplanted the heart in record time.
This is the first instance when a donor’s heart has been transported between two service hospitals within such a short period due to a miraculous effort by IAF by providing a fast Embraer jet aircraft.
