Pune: 95 green corridors set up in last 4 years, highest in state

A green corridor is a cleared out special road route, created for an ambulance that transports organs meant for transplant at the hospital. Organs have a short preservation time and studies have shown that the shorter the wait between retrieval and transplant the better the odds for a successful surgery.

95 green corridors set up in Pune in last 4 years, highest in state

From 2015 till date, a total of 169 green corridors were set up in Maharashtra. (File Photo)

Managing green corridors, specially created to transport vital organs, during peak traffic hours can be a challenge. However, Pune leads other parts of the state in smooth and timely delivery of organs with 95 green corridors set up in the last four years.

From 2015 till date, a total of 169 green corridors were set up in the state, with 95 in Pune, 40 in Mumbai, 20 in Aurangabad and 14 in Nagpur, Dr Astrid Lobo Gajiwala, director of the Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation told The Indian Express.

A green corridor is a cleared out special road route, created for an ambulance that transports organs meant for transplant at the hospital. Organs have a short preservation time and studies have shown that the shorter the wait between retrieval and transplant the better the odds for a successful surgery.

Increasing awareness about organ donation and the need to save lives have seen concerted efforts between hospital authorities, zonal transplant coordination centres and traffic authorities. Sarang Avhad, who heads the anti-encroachment department of the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority, was the DCP Traffic in Pune when the first green corridor was set up in August 2015 to transport a heart from Pune’s Jehangir hospital to Mumbai’s Fortis hospital.

“The doctors’ team in the ambulance needs complete and free access to transport the organ and to ensure this, we chalk out a detailed plan of the route and inform the control room as to which signals need to be stopped. There has to be a smooth coordination,” Avhad said. Pankaj Deshmukh, the present DCP Traffic Pune, said that residents have shown tremendous faith in Pune traffic police. “The distance between Jehangir hospital or Ruby Hospital and the airport has been covered under seven minutes on many occasions,” Deshmukh said.

Aarti Gokhale, central coordinator of the Pune ZTCC, said 90 organs were transported either from within the city to other places or from other places to Pune via green corridors. “A total of 38 hearts, 48 livers and four lungs were transported during this period . Of this, 25 hearts were transplanted in Pune hospitals between 2015 and June 2019,” Gokhale said.

Guidelines for organ donation, retrieval

The Regional Organ and Tissue Transport Organisation — State Organ and Tissue Transport Organisation (ROTTO-SOTTO) expert committees for kidney, liver, heart, lungs, hand and critical care have laid down guidelines for donation, retrieval and distribution of organs. The critical care team has spelled out procedures for the certification of brain stem death and maintenance of potential donors, Rahul Pandit, co-chair of ROTTO told The Indian Express. Dr Astrid Lobo Gajiwala, director of ROTTO, said that intensivists in the Intensive and Critical Care Units play key roles in organ donations since the first step is identification of a potential brain stem death donor. “We hope that the ROTTO-SOTTO guidelines will bring clarity in the critical area,” Gajiwala said, adding that the draft guidelines have been sent to the state directorate of health services.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. ``Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) "Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. ``At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure "For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. ``Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions X (Twitter): @runaanu ... Read More

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