Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said that the Bengaluru to Chennai Expressway, once created, would help in facilitating organ transplantation by reducing the travel time between the two cities to two hours.
He said hospitals in parts of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh could benefit from the expressway, which would enable faster transport of harvested organs. Land acquisition and other works were in progress for the expressway, he added.
Addressing a function organised by MGM Healthcare hospital to mark the completion of 500 heart and lung transplants by its team, led by K.R. Balakrishnan, Mr. Gadkari said such achievements put India on the global map in the field of healthcare.
Lauding the hospital, he said the milestone was a beginning for increasing the number of organ transplants in the country, and stressed the need for creating awareness among members of the public, and collaboration between hospitals to ensure that people in smaller towns benefited from world-class treatment.
Drone prototype
During the function, a drone prototype for transporting organs between airports and hospitals was unveiled. Dr. Balakrishnan, chairman, Cardiac Sciences, and Director, Institute of Heart and Lung Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support, MGM Healthcare, said the drone had been tested with a load of around 12 kg. He said the technology would be put to use once the necessary regulatory clearances were provided by Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and other bodies.
Prashanth Rajagopalan, Director, MGM Healthcare, said the drones would help in faster transport of organs compared to the green corridor system used now to clear traffic on roads.
Tamil Nadu Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ma. Subramanian highlighted how the State was planning to start organ transplant programmes in all government medical college hospitals and district headquarters hospitals. As a first step, all the 36 government medical college hospitals and the district headquarters hospitals have been given permission to harvest organs, he said.
He said MGM Healthcare, with its vast experience in organ transplants, could help in setting up organ transplant programmes in government institutions.
Dr. Balakrishnan and Suresh Rao, co-director, Institute of Heart and Lung Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support, MGM Healthcare, recollected the journey since the first heart transplant, done by the team in 1994. “We have successfully completed 514 heart and lung transplants, including over 200 in the last two years despite COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns. This was possible due to the tremendous support and expertise of the team, the government bodies and transport teams,” Dr. Balakrishnan said.
He said a good number of the transplants were possible because of the funding through Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme and the support of Aishwarya Trust.
