Lungs of brain dead person were sent to Chennai by air from here on Monday afternoon for transplantation to a needy patient at the Global Hospital.
The lungs were harvested from a brain dead person, Alapati Suryanarayana (29) at the Care Hospital here along with the liver, two kidneys and two corneas under the Jeevandaan programme of the AP State Government (harvesting and distribution of organs to the needy patients for transplantation). The lungs were taken in an ambulance along with police escort to the airport for transportation to Chennai by the 2.45 p.m. commercial flight. It took about 20 minutes for the ambulance to reach the airport where it was quickly put on the flight and allowed as hand luggage.
According to medical superintendent of Care Hospitals Mohan Maharaj, both lungs would be transplanted to a single patient at the Global Hospital, Chennai. It takes about eight hours for transplanting the lungs and the procedure would commence as soon as the lungs reached the hospital in Chennai, he said.
The lungs were sent to Chennai after it was found that they were not required in AP after NTRU University of Health Sciences' Vice-Chancellor and Appropriate Authority for Cadaver Transplantation of the Jeevandaan programme of the AP, T. Raviraju verified with hospitals in AP and Telangana. Heart of the brain dead person was not in a condition for cadaver transplantation. The liver and one kidney are being transplanted to two different patients at the Care Hospital here and one kidney to a patient at the Apollo Hospital here. Both corneas of the brain dead patient were recovered by the Mohisin Eye Bank.
Coordinator for transplantation of organs at Care Hospitals, Chennai Sankar Ganesh thanked the authorities of airport, Care Hospital and city police for arranging quick transport of lungs.