BENGALURU: A brain-dead patient’s organs were harvested and a green corridor was created to transport his live heart for a recipient patient on Sunday. The transplant was done at Narayana Health City where a similar procedure was done just four days ago.
The donor, V Elavarsan, aged 32, was working with a private company in Bommanahalli. He suffered head injuries after a two-wheeler rider knocked him down on July 22. The recipient patient is 44-year-old Madhusudhan from Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu.
After the accident, Elavarsan was admitted to a local hospital and shifted to Sagar Hospital where he was declared brain dead on Saturday. “We were told he is brain dead. The doctors and Zonal Coordination Committee of Karnataka (ZCCK) for transplant also pitched in with efforts to convince the family about organ donation. We gave our consent as my brother had enrolled for organ donation at St John’s College and Hospital six months ago,” said the donor’s sister V Sharmila.
Dr Julius Pennun, senior cardiologist, Narayana Health City, said the recipient was doing fine. “We will examine him every hour. Usually, the first 24 hours post surgery are crucial as there may be a case of the recipient’s body rejecting the new organ.”
Green Corridor: Traffic police say the ambulance took 17 minutes to cover 19 km between Sagar Apollo Hospital in Bannerghatta and Narayana Health City in Bommasandra. The distance usually takes at least 45 minutes. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic-East) S K Babu told Express, “There was zero traffic when the live heart was being shifted. The deployed traffic police managed traffic movement well on Bannerghatta and Electronics City Road.
K U Manjula, Chief Transplant Coordinator, ZCCK, said, “The patient was first declared brain dead at 6 pm on Saturday and immediately, we were informed by the hospital of possible organ donation. At 12 am, the second declaration was made, by which time a recipient was prepared for surgery at Narayana Health City.
Other organs: Elavarsan’s liver, kidneys and corneas were also donated. The liver was sent to BGS Global Hospital. One kidney was sent to the Institute of Nephro-Urology and another was given to Sagar Hospital and the corneas were given to the Lions Eye Bank.
Dr Sanjeev Kumar, nephrologist at Sagar Hospitals, said Elavarsan’s kidney was transplanted to a 29-year-old, who has been on dialysis for over three years now. “This is best gift he could get in his life time,” he added.
Gesture of Goodwill
According to Tilak Nagar police, there was unrest at Sagar Hospitals post the organ retrieval as the family of the donor was not willing to make the due payment. After staff members and others present there told the hospital authorities that this family had done a good deed, the hospital agreed to give a concession. Dr Madan S Gakewad, senior executive vice-president, Sagar Hospitals, said, “We are not insisting on the remaining payment as a gesture of goodwill. We have extended full support to the family for post-mortem and also given them the mortuary facility.”