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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Indian Navy on Friday carried out a rare rescue attempt by lending a Dornier to ferry a heart from Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi, an operation that not only saved an auto driver's life but became the first time in India that a defence aircraft was used as air ambulance in a civilian medical emergency.
On Friday morning, 46-year-old Neelakanda Sharma was declared brain-dead at Thiruvananthapuram's Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and his family agreed to donate his heart. Mathew Achadan, a 47-year-old auto driver, suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy, was to be the recipient at Kochi's Lissie Hospital.
But transferring the heart from Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi, even with a green corridor, in less than the four-hour deadline imposed by doctors was going to be impossible.
By 6.10pm, a group of doctors at Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute had harvested Sharma's heart after a five-hour operation that had its share of anxious moments. Then began the most dangerous part.
READ ALSO: Gurgaon-Delhi green corridor helps heart travel 32km in 29 minutes, for 16-year-old
No lal batti: Chennai halts traffic to save life
In a clinical operation that saw the police, hospital authorities and the Indian Navy work seamlessly, the heart was taken to the IAF base in the state capital in 18 minutes. The Dornier carrying the heart took off at 6.48pm and reached Kochi's naval base at 7.29pm.
The ambulance left the Kochi naval air station at 7.34pm and, due to spotless traffic coordination involving around 200 policemen, it reached Lissie Hospital 10km away in eight minutes and 32 seconds. The transplant operation began at 8pm.
It all started with a phone call by the Ernakulam district collector to the Navy PRO on Friday morning. The collector sought a navy chopper but the navy authorities, after consultations with higher-ups, did one better. They said they were ready to provide an aircraft since a chopper would take close to 90 minutes for the flight between the two cities whereas a Dornier could do it in just 35 minutes.
"The ischemic timing of a heart is four to five hours and a heart that has been removed should start beating in a new destination within that period or else we may not get the desired result. Luckily we were able to finish the removal in Thiruvananthapuram by 6.10pm and start transplanting by 8pm," said Dr Joe Joseph, cardiologist at Lisie Heart Institute, who is part of the transplant team.
The heart transplant on Mathew was done by a team of four doctors headed by Dr Jose Chacko Periyappuram.
A first: Navy flies harvested heart for Kochi auto driver - The Times of India
Thank you Indian Navy for helping a common man, when it matter the most. Great job!!!!!!
On Friday morning, 46-year-old Neelakanda Sharma was declared brain-dead at Thiruvananthapuram's Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and his family agreed to donate his heart. Mathew Achadan, a 47-year-old auto driver, suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy, was to be the recipient at Kochi's Lissie Hospital.
But transferring the heart from Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi, even with a green corridor, in less than the four-hour deadline imposed by doctors was going to be impossible.
By 6.10pm, a group of doctors at Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute had harvested Sharma's heart after a five-hour operation that had its share of anxious moments. Then began the most dangerous part.
READ ALSO: Gurgaon-Delhi green corridor helps heart travel 32km in 29 minutes, for 16-year-old
No lal batti: Chennai halts traffic to save life
In a clinical operation that saw the police, hospital authorities and the Indian Navy work seamlessly, the heart was taken to the IAF base in the state capital in 18 minutes. The Dornier carrying the heart took off at 6.48pm and reached Kochi's naval base at 7.29pm.
The ambulance left the Kochi naval air station at 7.34pm and, due to spotless traffic coordination involving around 200 policemen, it reached Lissie Hospital 10km away in eight minutes and 32 seconds. The transplant operation began at 8pm.
It all started with a phone call by the Ernakulam district collector to the Navy PRO on Friday morning. The collector sought a navy chopper but the navy authorities, after consultations with higher-ups, did one better. They said they were ready to provide an aircraft since a chopper would take close to 90 minutes for the flight between the two cities whereas a Dornier could do it in just 35 minutes.
"The ischemic timing of a heart is four to five hours and a heart that has been removed should start beating in a new destination within that period or else we may not get the desired result. Luckily we were able to finish the removal in Thiruvananthapuram by 6.10pm and start transplanting by 8pm," said Dr Joe Joseph, cardiologist at Lisie Heart Institute, who is part of the transplant team.
The heart transplant on Mathew was done by a team of four doctors headed by Dr Jose Chacko Periyappuram.
A first: Navy flies harvested heart for Kochi auto driver - The Times of India
Thank you Indian Navy for helping a common man, when it matter the most. Great job!!!!!!
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