MADURAI : The effort put in to transport the heart of a brain dead person from Madurai to Chennai proved successful on Wednesday, thanks to the green corridor created for the same and the air ambulance facility.
R Muthupandi (37), a resident of Thirumangalakuruchi in Kovilpatti and working as a load man, was declared brain dead at Apollo Hospitals here on Tuesday. According to a relative, Muthupandi fell from a two-wheeler on Monday and was rushed to the nearby government hospital. Later, he was referred to the Apollo Hospitals.
After his brain death, his family members agreed to donate organs. Subsequently, heart, lungs, kidneys and corneas were harvested by a team of doctors on Wednesday, the relative added.
A green corridor was created from the hospital to the Madurai Airport to transport the harvested heart to Apollo Hospitals in Chennai in an air ambulance. The air ambulance carrying the heart along with a police convoy started from the Apollo Hospitals at 11.49 am and reached the Madurai Airport, situated 16.8 km from the hospital, in 14 minutes. His lungs were taken to the Fortis Malar Hospital in Chennai in a cargo flight.
The liver and a kidney were used on two patients at the Apollo Hospitals in Madurai, while another kidney was taken to the Madurai Kidney Centre. The corneas were sent to Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai.