Ruby Hall Clinic celebrates 100 successful green corridors with ‘Unsung Heroes’
Pune, 14th September 2019: The heroic act of saving a life is often credited to a doctor or hospital – after all, they make intricate procedures like organ donation a reality. However, the people who often go unnoticed are the catalysts of support in this endeavour. Be it the police who creates a green corridor every time an organ needs to be transported to a hospital; the airport in-charge who prompted swift transfers; or the family who took the brave decision of donating a loved one’s organs – each person is an essential link in the chain of organ donation, each one equally vital in the journey of gifting a new lease of life. Commemorating a hundred green corridors in the city, Ruby Hall Clinic saluted the ‘Unsung Heroes’ who make the process of organ donation successful.
Dr. K. Venkatesham, Commissioner of Police, Pune was present as the Guest of Honour at the event. Other guests included Mr. Sarang Awad, Ex-DCP Traffic; Mr Sanjay Dularey, Joint General Manager Operations Pune Airport ;G.G Bhargav Assistant Commandant CISF Pune Airport Dr. F.F. Wadia, Chairman, ZTCC; Mrs. Aarti Gokhale, Coordinator, ZTCC , Mr. Prasad Kulkarni, President, PUWJ , Dr Purvez Grant , Managing Trustee Ruby Hall Clinic , Bomi Bhot CEO Ruby Hall Clinic , Dr Kishor Pujari COO Ruby Hall Clinic , Dr Sanjay Pathare Medical Services Director Ruby Hall Clinic , Senior Cardiologists Dr R.B Gulati and Dr Jagdish Hiremath , & Surekha Joshi Transplant Coordinator at Ruby Hall Clinic .
In India, every single day, at least 15 patients die waiting for an organ and every 10 minutes, a new name is added to this waiting list. With organ donation rates standing at 0.8 per million of the population, the country is struggling with an acute shortage of organs for transplantation and these numbers highlight the yawning gap between the number of organs required and the organs available for transplantation. However, recent years have seen aggressive efforts being made to bridge this gap with increased awareness programmes, family counselling and even the use of green corridors.
Organs generally have a short preservation time which means that there are only a few hours within which the entire process — right from harvesting and transportation to the final transplantation surgery — must be completed. A green corridor is a demarcated route cleared out for an ambulance carrying harvested organs in the shortest time possible and coordination is the most crucial factor in making these a success.
Speaking on this occasion, Dr. K. Venkatesham, Commissioner of Police, Pune said, “As part of the police force, it has always been our duty to help care for the lives of our fellow countrymen. We are honoured to play our role with the creation of green corridors and it has only been the support and cooperation we have received that has made this successful. We’ve made strides and look forward to collaborating for many more opportunities. This appreciation entails us to be more responsible and what will give us happiness is being ethical through the principals and values we believe in.
The city police chief appreciated efforts of Police Inspector Jitendra Koli of the Vimantal traffic division who recently facilitated the 100th green corridor for which even Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s convoy was also halted.
Aarti Gokhale Coordinator ZTCC narrated some of the earlier experiences and interactions with the police. She hailed both the city and rural police for their complete dedication to green corridor.
Prasad Kulkarni, president PUWJ, recalled his experience about the first green corridor in 2015 and said that there was a lot of positivity about the news in our newsroom as somebody was about to get a new lease of life .
“It has always been our vision to propagate the concept of organ donation as being the supreme gift of life. Every single person, right from our team of doctors to support staff and even social workers go the extra mile to ensure every opportunity is utilised at our Multi-organ Transplant Centre. With this felicitation programme, we hope to acknowledge and say thank you to each and every one — both within and outside our hospital — who make this process a reality,” explained Dr. Purvez Grant, Managing Trustee, Ruby Hall Clinic.
Bomi Bhote, CEO, Ruby Hall Clinic commented, “At Ruby Hall Clinic, our success in organ transplantation has always hinged on the best of technology and collaboration between the brightest minds. The police force, airport incharge and even ZTCC coordinators have been with us every step of the way, ensuring timely access and transport of organs. While a hundred green corridors is certainly a milestone, we’d like to think of this as just the beginning of a medical revolution. Let us all come together and ensure not a single precious organ is wasted, let us all make Pune the number one city for organ transplantation!”
Dr Sanjay Pathare gave a brief presentation about the current scenario of organ transplants while Dr Kishor Pujari delivered the vote of thanks .
