Heart transplant gives new lease of life to Braveheart

New Delhi: A 20-year-old youth who was an unfortunate victim of a road traffic accident with a head injury became a saviour for many patients, who were battling for their lives.
A 54-year-old serving soldier who suffered cardiac failure got a new lease of life after the doctors of the Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery (CTVS) team at Army Hospital Research & Referral (AHRR)successfully carried out the heart transplant. The donor was the 20-year-old youth. Organs other than his heart were also utilised by surgeons at the PGIMER, Chandigarh.

The mother of the victim had willingly donated the heart, liver, pancreas and kidneys of her only child after he was declared brain dead at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh.
The heart was retrieved and airlifted to Delhi from Chandigarh on 3rd September by the retrieval team of Armed Forces Organ Retrieval and Transplantation Authority (AORTA) and AHRR, after being notified by the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO).

An air support green corridor was established with the coordinated efforts between AHRR, and the Indian Air Force (IAF). Along with that, the assistance of the Delhi Police and Chandigarh Police was instrumental in the successful airlifting of the organ and is made available for a heart transplant at AHRR in a timely manner.

The Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) has carried out a number of organ transplant surgeries in various medical disciplines, which has saved many lives over the years. Several soldiers and their dependants have donated organs which have benefitted the general population as well under the organ sharing programme under the aegis of NOTTO. (ANI)