Delhi: In heavy traffic, heart travels 14km in 18 minutes

The heart of a road accident victim travelled from Vasant Kunj to Okhla, a distance of 14 kms, in just 18 minutes , during heavy traffic. The heart was harvested at Fortis, Vasant Kunj and sent to Fortis Escorts Heart Institute. The donor was a 25-year-old man who had been grievously injured in a road accident and was brought to Fortis Vasant Kunj in the wee hours of July 24. The heart was transplanted in a 24-year-old who was suffering from congestive heart failure

The heart of a road accident victim travelled from Vasant Kunj to Okhla, a distance of 14 kms, in just 18 minutes , during heavy traffic. The heart was harvested at Fortis, Vasant Kunj and sent to Fortis Escorts Heart Institute.

The 25-year-old donor, who had been grievously injured in a road accident and was brought to Fortis Vasant Kunj in the wee hours of July 24. (handout)

The donor was a 25-year-old man who had been grievously injured in a road accident and was brought to Fortis Vasant Kunj in the wee hours of July 24. The heart was transplanted in a 24-year-old who was suffering from congestive heart failure.

The surgery went on for four hours and the patient is recovering well with a normal ejection fraction of achieved since the transplant.

“The patient’s heart muscles did not relax after each pumping and hence there was excessive water retention in the body. Over the years, the patient’s condition grew serious and he was in dire need of a heart transplant,” said Dr Vishal Rastogi, principal intervention cardiologist, head of advanced Heart Failure Program.

Every year around 50,000 people in India need a heart transplant, but only a little over 350 heart transplants have happened in the country to date.

“Delhi Police played a vital role in making the green corridor a success. There was a vehicle which had broken down on the route resulting in a pile up. The response from Delhi police helped in transporting the heart in less than 20 minutes,” said Ashok Seth, chairman, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute and Head, Cardiology Council, Fortis Healthcare. A heart remains viable for transplant only for four to six hours after it has been removed from the body of the donor.

Meanwhile, one of the kidney of the donor went to a 59-year-old kidney failure patient in Fortis Vasant Kunj. The other kidney was sent to BLK hospital and the liver to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, both in Karol Bagh.