Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
Surat, Aug 3: In a first for the country, a donated heart was transported by train for transplantation after the organs of a 36-year-old brain-dead man were retrieved at Surat New Civil Hospital, giving a new lease of life to four patients.
The donor, Mithun Swain, a native of Kalakhadi village in Odisha's Ganjam district who was working in a weaving unit at Pipodara near Surat, donated his heart, liver and both kidneys after his family consented to organ donation. The case marked the 96th successful organ donation at Surat New Civil Hospital.
According to hospital authorities, Swain suffered a medical emergency on July 28 shortly after returning to his room following a meal. He developed facial distortion and paralysis on the left side of his body. He was initially admitted to a private hospital before being shifted to Surat New Civil Hospital by a 108 ambulance, where he was treated in the Intensive Care Unit.
A medical board comprising Resident Medical Officer Ketan Nayak, plastic surgeon Nilesh Kachhadiya, neurologist Prayag Makwana and neurosurgeon Keyur Prajapati declared him brain dead at 4.01 p.m. on July 30.
Following counselling by Organ Donation Charitable Trust volunteer Iqbal Kadiwala and counsellor Nirmala Kathude, Swain's wife, brother and other family members agreed to donate his organs with the hope of saving lives and spreading awareness about organ donation in their native village.
A prayer meeting was held before the organ retrieval procedure in the presence of in-charge Medical Superintendent Parul Vadgama, Medical Officer Solanki, doctors, hospital staff and members of the Organ Donation Charitable Trust.
The liver and both kidneys were allocated to the Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre (IKDRC) in Ahmedabad, while the heart was transported from Surat Railway Station to U.N. Mehta Hospital in Ahmedabad aboard the Mumbai Central-Gandhinagar Capital Vande Bharat Express.
The journey took about 217 minutes (three hours and 45 minutes), making it the first reported instance in India of a heart being transported by train for transplantation.
After the train reached Ahmedabad, the heart was rushed to the hospital through a green corridor created by the Railway Protection Force and Gujarat Police to ensure timely transplantation.
Hospital authorities said the operation was made possible through the coordinated efforts of Surat New Civil Hospital, Indian Railways, the Railway Protection Force, Gujarat Police, transplant teams, the Organ Donation Charitable Trust and volunteers.