Heart harvested from 55-year-old woman at AIIMS sent to FEHI via green corridor

A heart harvested from a 55-year-old woman at AIIMS was transported to a leading private hospital here via a green corridor in a span of 14 minutes on Tuesday evening during heavy traffic hours, doctors said on Tuesday.

A 19-year-old boy at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute (FEHI), Okhla, was undergoing a heart transplant surgery for the organ donated by the old woman, they said.

A team of doctors were alerted by National Organ Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) about a possible cadaveric heart donor (brain dead) at AIIMS Delhi on Tuesday, the private hospital said in a statement.

The team of doctors retrieved the live donor heart and the organ was transported from AIIMS to FEHI, covering a distance of 9.2 km during peak traffic time in 14 minutes, doctors said. The young recipient was having a heart problem for last 1.5 years. His condition reached a critical condition and was on medicines since then, they said.