Liver transported 10km in 11 mins, saves life
A green corridor created between the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences and Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport has helped in saving the life of a 52-year-old man from the city. An ambulance carrying a liver to be transplanted was rushed through the green corridor between the airport and ILBS in 11 minutes flat on Wednesday afternoon.
A green corridor created between the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences and Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport has helped in saving the life of a 52-year-old man from the city.
An ambulance carrying a liver to be transplanted was rushed through the green corridor between the airport and ILBS in 11 minutes flat on Wednesday afternoon.
The liver of a 28-year-old man was retrieved at King George’s Medical University (KGMC) in Lucknow after he was declared brain dead at the hospital. He died in a road accident in Lucknow. The Delhi Traffic Police were informed about the transfer five hours before the liver landing in the Capital.
“Around 12:30 pm, the liver was retrieved and received by transplant coordinator of ILBS Vibhuti Sharma, who had gone to Lucknow. It took just 4 hours for the organ to be transported from Lucknow to Delhi. They boarded a flight around 1:45pm and landed in Delhi at 3:10pm. By 3:30 pm, the organ had reached ILBS,” said Dr SK Sarin, director, ILBS.
“We got to know in the night that there was a liver available at KGMC and the blood group of the deceased was ‘A’ positive. We called up three patients in waiting from the DLD list (deceased liver donor) within the ‘A’ positive blood group. The person who received the liver was the most sick and was hence selected for the transplant,” said Dr Sarin.
The doctors at ILBS had started preparing for the transplant at least two hours before the liver actually reached the institute to ensure that there were no delays once the organ was received.
“After retrieval, the organ can be kept for 12 hours. The lesser you keep it, the better the quality. So, the doctors at ILBS had started the process much earlier,” said Dr Sarin.
This was the seventh cadaver donation at ILBS this year with a total of 13 cadaver donations having taken place at the institute in the last four years.
“This is the fourth time that we have cleared a route for organ donation. This time we clocked a record travel time by helping the donor liver reach the institute in less than 11 minutes. We are happy to contribute to the cause of saving someone’s life,” said Muktesh Chander, special commissioner of police (traffic).