In 9 mins, donor’s heart beats traffic to beat again in recipient

In 9 mins, donor’s heart beats traffic to beat again in recipient

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Hyderabad:19.11.2021

A donor’s heart reached the beneficiary 12 km away in flat nine minutes through a green channel created by the traffic police on Thursday morning. The heart was being transported from the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) hospital in Punjagutta to AIG Hospital in Gachibowli, a usually busy stretch prone to traffic blocks.

The donor was a 31-yearold brain dead patient, Nakirakanti Shekhar, who hailed from Nadimpally village in Mahabubnagar. The recipient of the heart was a 45-yearold from the city.

Shekhar had been injured in a hit-and-run accident near Achampet in Mahabubnagar on November 13 while he was on his way home after work. He was rushed to the local government hospital first and later shifted to NIMS.

“He was in the intensive care unit for four days. His condition deteriorated and was declared brain dead on the night of November 18. Jeevandan appreciates the donor family members for their noble act,” said Dr G Swarnalatha, head of state-run Jeevandan organisation.

Dr Swarnalatha said that a Jeevandan coordinator had provided grief counselling to the family and also explained the importance of organ donation. Following the counselling, Shekhar’s brother and sister consented to donate his organs under Jeevandan programme for patients who may be in need.

Apart from the heart, seven other organs were retrieved from Shekhar. These organs were sent to the Osmania General Hospital (liver and a kidney), another kidney was kept in NIMS for a transplant, two lungs were sent to KIMS hospital and two corneas given to the Sarojini Devi Eye bank.

Incidentally, this was the first heart transplant taken up at AIG Hospitals, according to Jeevandan officials.