98 km in 85 minutes: Green corridor rush saves young man with failing heart

NEW DELHI: In a swift, high-stakes operation, a donor heart was rushed 98 km from Rohtak to Delhi in just 85 minutes on Thursday, giving a 26-year-old man battling end-stage heart failure a second chance at life.The heart travelled through a green corridor from Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS), Rohtak, to Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, Okhla, with police clearing traffic to ensure it reached within the narrow viability window critical for transplant.The recipient was suffering from advanced dilated cardiomyopathy, where the heart weakens and cannot pump blood effectively.

With treatment options exhausted, a transplant was his only survival option.The donor, a 37-year-old man, had been found unconscious and admitted to PGIMS Rohtak with a severe brain haemorrhage. After being declared brain dead, his family consented to organ donation, enabling multiple transplants.Doctors began organ retrieval around 2.20 pm. The heart left Rohtak at 2.50 pm and reached the Delhi hospital by 4.15 pm, as Delhi and Rohtak police created a seamless green corridor.

“The success of such transplants depends on precise coordination and rapid transport,” said Dr Z S Meherwal, Chairman, Adult CTVS, Fortis Escorts, Okhla. “Every minute is critical to preserve the organ.”The transplant was performed soon after arrival, and the patient remains in the ICU under close monitoring.Other organs were also allocated as per protocol — lungs to Artemis Hospital, liver and pancreas to All India Institute of Medical Sciences, while kidneys and corneas were retained at PGIMS Rohtak.“This case underlines the power of coordination and the life-saving impact of organ donation,” said Dr Vishal Rastogi, Director, Cardiology. With organ demand far outstripping supply, doctors said such coordinated efforts — and families willing to donate — remain critical to saving lives.