A heart harvested from a brain-dead person in Madurai was flown to Chennai on Saturday and transplanted on a 36-year-old woman with end-stage heart failure at Dr. Rela Institute and Medical Centre (RIMC).
A release from the hospital said arrangements were made with the help of the police to ensure swift transport of the organ from Velammal Medical College Hospital and Research Institute (VMCHRI) to Madurai airport and from the city airport to RIMC.
According to the release, the cadaveric donor was a regular blood donor from Sivaganga district who met with a road accident near his hometown on Tuesday. He was rushed to VMCHRI with severe head injury.
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Despite treatment, his condition deteriorated and he was declared brain dead on Friday. With his family agreeing to donate, the organs were harvested after adherence to due processes, and the heart was taken to RIMC for the transplant.
A team, headed by Sandeep Attawar, programme director, Heart and Lung Transplant, RIMC and KIMS Hospitals, took four hours to perform the transplant and the patient’s condition was stable, the release said.