20-yr-old's heart gives fresh lease of life to 45-year-old

The heart of a 45-year-old man was transplanted into a 20-year-old at All India Institute of Medical Science Delhi on Thursday, for which a 17.5 Km long green corridor was made by the authorities.

The organ was flown from the Chandigarh to Delhi Airport, from where it was taken to All India Institute of Medical Science in 27 minutes.

According to the doctor at PGIMER, "Donar Jagat Singh from Sirmaur district, Himachal Pradesh died on Wednesday at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Research, Chandigarh after he suffered grievous injury. The family of the donor consented to donate organs-heart and liver following counseling. After this, the harvested heart was flown down to Delhi."

According to the Assistant Professor, Cardiothoracic Sciences Centre, AIIMS, Dr. Sandeep Seth, after the family consented for organ donation, PGIMER initiated the process of retrieval organ.

"As there were no matching recipient for heart in PGIMER the National Organ AND Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) in Delhi was allocated to All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), through a green corridor from the airport, where it was airlifted for its destination in New Delhi," added Dr Sandeep Seth.

However, the liver of Jagat Singh allocated to GB Pant hospital was taken by the team from PGIMER for the airport at 8.30 am, said doctors at PGIMER, Chandigarh.

"The patient had sustained a brain injury after suffering a fall. We were intimated by NOTTO and a team of doctors went to Chandigarh by a flight last night.

"They harvested the heart from the brain dead person this morning around 5 am and come back to Delhi. Later, it was transplanted into a 20-year-old, fourth-year student of B. Tech student who suffers from dilated

cardiomyopathy," said Dr Balram Airan, Dean, AIIMS and chief of Cardiothoracic Sciences Centre.