BENGALURU: Namma Metro is the breath of Bengalureans: safe, predictable and reliable. But on Friday night, the Metro broke away from its routine for a life-saving mission. The Metro facilitated its first-ever organ transport, becoming the second Metro in India to undertake such an initiative. A donated liver was transported from Vydehi Hospital in Whitefield (East Bengaluru) to Sparsh Hospital located in Rajarajeshwarinagar (South Bengaluru) via Metro, covering 31 kilometres and 32 stations along the Purple Line in a mere 55 minutes.
“The initiative showcased how a public transit system can also serve critical medical emergencies. Regular services remained unaffected as the operation was conducted at 8.42 pm, when Whitefield Station was relatively less crowded. Only the last coach of the train was reserved for the medical team, and passengers were asked to shift to other coaches,” said the BMRCL Chief Public Relations Officer Yashwant Chavan.
“The operation was meticulously planned, with the last coach cleared for the mission and station elevators kept free for emergency use. Chief Security Officer Selvam supervised the transfer along the Purple Line,” he added.
The organ was first transported via a 5.5-kilometre ‘green corridor’ from Vydehi Hospital to Whitefield Metro Station, where it arrived at 8.38 pm under escort by a doctor and seven medical staff. Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) then dedicated the last coach of a regular service train for the mission. Metro security teams cleared elevators and ensured uninterrupted movement at all stations. Metro personnel, along with an Assistant Security Officer (ASO), coordinated security checks and documentation before the team boarded the train.
Metro journey was the difference between life & death: Doctor
Departing Whitefield at 8.42 pm, the train reached Rajarajeshwarinagar Metro Station at 9.48 pm. Another 2.5 km ‘green corridor’ took the organ to Sparsh Hospital, where the transplant surgery began immediately and concluded around 3.00 am. The ‘Metro Mission’ took place on Friday evening, when a liver retrieved from a 24-year-old accident victim was urgently required for a patient suffering from severe hepatitis-related liver failure. The recipient had been on the waiting list for over two months.
“This Metro journey was the difference between life and death. If we had taken the road, the organ could have been lost in Friday evening traffic,” said Dr. Mahesh Gopasetty, HoD & Senior Consultant – Liver Transplant & HPB Surgery at Sparsh. This is only the second time in the country that a Metro has been used to transport an organ. On Jan 18, Hyderabad Metro created a dedicated ‘green channel’, in Lakdikapul, to facilitate the swift transportation of a donor heart after the family of a 34-year-old consented to donate his organs after he was declared brain-dead on Jan 17.