: The State witnessed one more emergency journey of ‘a heart’ from Thrissur to Cochin International Airport at Nedumbassery on Thursday, which was airlifted to Chennai.
Asokan’s heart was taken in an ambulance from Daya Hospital, Thrissur, to the Cochin airport at 12.12 p.m. Asokan, 29, son of the late Raghavan of Cheruthuruthy, was declared brain-dead on Tuesday after he met with an accident.
The ambulance took 41 minutes to cover 58 km from Thrissur to Nedumbassery. The heart was airlifted to Fortis Hospital in Chennai.
A substitute ambulance with doctors accompanied it as a precaution, in case the ambulance developed any mechanical problem. Police vehicles escorted the ambulances.
Asokan’s heart was transplanted in a former Principal Secretary from Punjab.
This was the first such surgery in Thrissur.
The police had made all arrangements to ensure uninterrupted journey of the vehicles from Thrissur to Nedumbassery. Traffic signals were cleared. The emergency exit at the Palliakkara toll plaza was kept ready.
Since the air ambulance could not land at the Kerala Police Academy round at Ramavarmapuram owing to inclement weather, it was decided to take the heart by road to the Nedumbassery airport.
A team of seven doctors from Chennai led by Satheesh, cardiac surgeon, Sreenath and anaesthetist Muraleekrishnan and a seven-member team from Daya Hospital, including Abdul Aziz, Balumohan, Shaliq, performed the organ removal surgery.
The surgery began at 8.45 a.m. and finished by 12.10 p.m. The organs were transported within minutes.
Asokan’s liver was taken to the Ernakulam Medical Trust and eyes to Thrissur Jubilee Mission Medical College Hospital under the Mruthasanjeevani Project of the government. However, doctors declared his kidneys unfit for transplantation.
Pramod K. Eloor and M.M. Pradeep, were the ambulance drivers. A police team led by Thrissur ACP Siva Vikram made necessary traffic regulations.
Asokan was a driver of a school bus in Cheruthuruthy. He met with an accident at Cheruthuruty on September 27 when the bike he was riding collided with a car. His relatives expressed their willingness to donate his organs after the doctors at Daya Hospital declared him brain dead on Tuesday. Asokan was a DYFI activist. His wedding was fixed for November 15. Hundreds of friends and relatives were present at the hospital on Thursday.
