Hyderabad: Metro train makes special run to transport heart to patient, saves a life

A team from Apollo hospitals started their journey with the live organ around 4.40 pm, and the train crossed 16 stations in 30 minutes. A drive to the destination by road would have taken more than an hour. “It’s for the first time that such a special dedicated train was run to transport a heart to save a life,” said NVS Reddy, managing director, Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited(HMRL)

In a first, a special passenger-free train was arranged by @hmrgov @ltmhyd to transport a live heart from Kamineni Hospital in LB Nagar to Apollo Hospital in Jubilee Hills 21kms away in just 30mins. #organdonation #Hyderabad #Telangana photos:L&TMRHL @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/vmP0P2zrC7

— Rahul V Pisharody (@rahulvpisharody) February 2, 2021

KVB Reddy, MD & CEO, of L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Limited (L&T MRHL), thanked the two hospitals for reaching out to them with an opportunity to save a person’s life. “We have taken all safety measures in place along with creating a green corridor to mobilize a special non-stop train from Nagole to Jubilee hills, seamlessly facilitating the transportation of the heart in a quest to save a life,” he said in an official statement.

According to them, all stations were kept on guard regarding the movement of the special train and an ambulance was kept ready at Jubilee Hills Checkpost station to move the live heart without any delay to the hospital. Only a team of medical experts travelled along with the harvested heart in the special train, it said.

Dr. AGK Gokhale of Apollo Hospitals, who travelled along with the live organ in the metro, said that a 44-year-old patient in Apollo hospital was in a critical stage and in urgent need of heart transplantation. When they learned of the availability of a healthy organ from a 45-year-old brain-dead person in Kamineni hospitals, the distance between the two facilities and the traffic on road was the main challenge. “We faced a logistics problem as the two hospitals are on two ends of the city. It would take more than an hour to reach the hospital even if a green channel was created on-road,” he said.

Further, he explained: “If a heart is harvested for transplantation, it should start working in four hours. Short of a helicopter, we thought this is the best option available. We have saved half-an-hour to 45 minutes. This gesture by LTMRHL is highly appreciated.”