More and more green corridors in the State have helped transport donated organs to patients in need in the last few years, indicating that efforts are being taken to ensure maximum utility of organs even if it involves carrying them from one city or State to another.
In Mumbai, the number of green corridors went from four in 2016 to 18 in 2018. And 11 green corridors have already helped speed up transportation of organs so far this year.
A green corridor is a demarcated, cleared out special road route created for an ambulance that enables retrieved organ or organs meant for transplant to reach the destined hospital. Organs have a short preservation time, and green corridors ensure the ambulance escapes traffic congestion and reaches the destination in the shortest possible time.
“The increase in the numbers of green corridors shows that the process of organ donation and transplantation has become a lot more efficient. From merely allocating the organs within the city, the Zonal Transplant Coordination Centres are ensuring that the organs are utilised in the best possible way by reaching out to other cities and States depending on the availability of recipients,” Dr. Astrid Lobo Gajiwala, who heads the Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation, said.
When a patient is declared brain dead and his family consents to an organ donation, the availability of a recipient is first checked within the city, State, western region and then nationally.
Pune, too, has consistently seen a rise in the number of green corridors, from seven in 2015 to 35 in 2018. So far this year, Pune has created 21 green corridors to transport organs.
In a rare feat last year, a liver was transported from Aurangabad to Nagpur, covering nearly 600 km through green corridors created by the districts en route.
Green corridors require a concentrated effort from transplant coordinators, local police, traffic police and airport staff. Experts say that awareness of the general public towards green corridors is also important.
An article published in the Indian Journal of Transplantation in 2018 said setting up a green corridor is a tedious process due to the involvement of multiple stakeholders. The donor institute has to coordinate with different State police authorities, airport authorities, airport security, Central Industrial Security Force and the recipient institute, all within the possible shortest duration to keep the organ viable.
