Pune, Mumbai comes to a standstill to save life with the 1st transplant in 40 years

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Heart transported by air and road in a record time of 60 minutes

Pune,Mumbai, August 3rd 2015: A high-precision and excellently coordinated effort between two cities led to a successful heart transplant in Mumbai today. The transplant was coordinated between Mumbai and Pune for a 22 year old recipient, suffering from Intracranial Bleed, admitted at Fortis Hospital, Mulund.

The donor heart came from Jehangir Hospital, Pune, pledged by a 42-year-old donor. The ambulance carrying the heart reached Pune airport in Lohegaon from Jehangir hospital in 7 minutes. DCP (Pune traffic police) Sarang Awad, assistant police inspector Bhimrao Gajare of Koregaon Park division and API Sarode of Yerwada traffic division created safe passage for the ambulance.

The journey of the heart, retrieved by Dr Sanjeev Jadhav, Consultant CVTS Surgeon, Fortis Hospital, Mulund, began from Pune, with due consent being taken from the donors family who agreed to donate and save a life. With the “Green Corridors” enabled by the Pune and Mumbai Police and Airport Authorities, the heart reached, Fortis Hospital, Mulund in 60mins flat after being harvested! The usually busy 19 km route from Mumbai Airport was cleared of traffic by the authorities so that the preserved heart could reach the Operation Theatre at Fortis Hospital, Mulund in a record time of 18 minutes straight into the waiting hands of Dr Anvay Mulay, Head of Cardiac Surgery and his team.

Sukhmeet Sandhu, Regional Director, Fortis Healthcare (Region-West & East), said, “This is a momentous occasion for Fortis and the city of Mumbai. I congratulate the medical teams and particularly the traffic authorities both at Pune & Mumbai. I’m sure this is the beginning that places our city firmly on the map as far as heart transplants are concerned”.

Milind Bharambe, Joint Commissioner, Traffic, Mumbai, said, “Meticulous planning and timely execution made this feat possible. Advancing from the Green Corridor in Pune, the heart was airlifted from Pune Airport to Mumbai, moving further from Santacruz Airport(Gate No. 8) to Military Road to Santacruz Chembur Link Road to Chedda Nagar to Eastern Express Highway to Airoli Junction and finally to Fortis Hospital, Mulund. Saving a valuable life made it well worth the effort and we are grateful that the citizens of Mumbai co-operated willingly in this humane endeavour”.

Dr S Narayani, Zonal Director, Fortis Hospital, Mulund said, “It is indeed a proud moment for Mumbai, and for all of us at Fortis Mulund in what is the cities 1st heart transplant.. This move strengthens our resolve in making Mumbai a preferred healthcare destination for organ transplantation, particularly heart transplants. This is not just a case study of Clinical Excellence for the hospital but also a testament to the massive coordination efforts between the Traffic authorities, medical teams and the community in both the cities.”

Dr Anvay Mulay, Chief of Cardiac Surgery, Fortis Hospital, Mulund, said, “This is the beginning of a robust Heart Transplant Programme in Mumbai and will help save many lives”.

The request to enable the ‘Green Corridor’ was received by the Pune traffic police, the Airport Authority of India and the Mumbai Traffic Police around 10am today. The authorities were quick to act and the two cities were ready with the arrangements for the Green Corridor within 20 minutes from the time of initial request to aid. From clearing the traffic on the roads, to stalling red light signals, flight coordination, was done smoothly and in record time. This proved to be a well-orchestrated symphony between the two cities and its local administrations.

This feat has been possible with great impetus from the media who has relentlessly followed the cause of organ donation, Dr Mulay’s Clinical Team and the Traffic Authorities who redefined transportation time.

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