In a first in Maha, green corridors created in Pune and Mumbai for heart transplant

In a first in the state, green corridors created in Pune and Mumbai helped a 22-year-old patient in Mulund’s Fortis hospital receive a heart from a brain dead woman in Pune’s Jehangir hospital within 60 minutes. A green corridor between the hospital in Pune to the airport and another one from Mumbai’s Santacruz airport to Mulund was created at a moment’s notice. “In Mumbai, some 150 police personnel manned the 15 signals between the airport and Fortis, thus ensuring that the harvested heart reached the hospital in 18 minutes (normally the 20-km distance takes at least an hour to cover). Similarly, in Pune, some 25 police personnel ensured that the heart reached the Pune airport from Jehangir Hospital in seven minutes flat (normally it takes 40-45 minutes),” reports Mumbai Mirror. [caption id=“attachment_2377758” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] A human heart can be preserved for four hours, but the earlier it reaches the patient, the better. Chennai was the first Indian city to create a green corridor for a heart transplant. The Indian Express quotes Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Milind Bharambe as saying, “We were informed at 11 am Monday about the transportation required for heart and had made arrangements straightaway. The ambulance left the airport from Gate 8 that opens on the Kalina side. It had to move northwards to Mulund and climbed on to Santa Cruz-Chembur Link Road to get on to the Eastern Expressway. A pilot vehicle was leading the ambulance through the right most lane of the entire stretch.” While the woman who had donated her heart was suffering from brain Aneurysm and was declared dead on 3 August, the recipient is a graphic designer suffering from cardiomyopathy. In cardiomyopathy, the heart muscle becomes enlarged, thick, or rigid. In rare cases, the muscle tissue in the heart is replaced with scar tissue. As cardiomyopathy worsens, the heart becomes weaker. It’s less able to pump blood through the body and maintain a normal electrical rhythm. According to Mumbai Mirror, after the surgery, the recipient was shifted to the ICU and will be kept under supervision for the next few days.