Covered on @the_hindu
MGM Healthcare Creates ‘Green Corridor’ to Save Teen
A 16-year-old boy was diagnosed with congenital cyanotic heart disease with severe pulmonary artery hypertension and a single ventricle. His family had visited major hospitals across the country in the past but doctors were unable to help him. When he came to Dr KR Balakrishnan at MGM Healthcare, he was found to have bleeding in the lungs and was put on ECMO, a life-saving advanced intensive care technology,on October 22, 2019.it was declared that the heart & lungs was beyond repair & he would need an immediate heart & lung transplant if he was to have a fighting chance.
The team at MGM received an alert earlier about 41-year-old brain dead male patient at a private hospital in Coimbatore, who was an organ donor. With this lead, the team immediately jumped into action to save the teen’s life. The boy was already registered on the waiting list handled by National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO). Post registration, he was waiting for a suitable donor. Once the deceased patient in Coimbatore was identified based on medical compatibility, the recipient was informed about the possibility of a transplant taking place.
Once the possibility of a transplant taking place was confirmed, The respective Traffic Police Departments in both Coimbatore & Chennai opened ‘Green Corridors to transport the organs’ from the private hospital in Coimbatore to Coimbatore Airport; and subsequently from Chennai Airport to MGM Healthcare.
The organs landed in Chennai at 12:00 noon & were given priority exit from Gate 6. The ambulance with the organs reached MGM Healthcare from Chennai Airport in 18 minutes flat, which under normal traffic conditions would have taken anywhere between an hour to an hour and a half.
The 4-hour-long procedure was led by Dr. K. R. Balakrishnan, who recently took charge as the Chairman & Director of Cardiac Sciences and Director of the Heart and Lung Transplant Program at MGM Healthcare.
Click on the link in description to watch the “Green corridor” journey.