Organs of 21-yr-old brain-dead accident victim harvested

Bengaluru, Mar 21: The organs of a 21-year-old brain dead patient, including his heart, were harvested in the City on Saturday night. The patient's heart was taken from BGS Global Hospitals near Kengeri to Narayana Health City on Hosur Road through a green corridor.

R Santosh (21) was declared brain-dead at 6 pm at BGS Global Hospitals and his organs were harvested. While his heart was transplanted to a patient at Narayana Health City, his liver and kidneys were transplanted to patients at BGS Global Hospitals. His corneas were sent to Narayana Nethralaya.

According to official sources in BGS Hospitals, Santosh met with an accident on March 17 near Hosur where he worked as a photographer. He was refered to BGS Global Hospitals from a hospital where he was initially admitted. Santosh suffered severe head injuries and failed to respond to treatment. Later, his father Rajanna consented to organ donation.

A green corridor was created at midnight to transport his heart.Dr Julis Punnen, transplant surgeon from Narayana Health City, took the heart in a car to save time. Dr Punnen said that they managed to cover the distance in 28 minutes. “A car is faster than an ambulance. All we need is a car with lights and a siren.

The ambulance has a maximum speed of 80 km per hour while a car can travel at around 100-120 kmph,” he said. The transplant surgeon recalled that in the past, he had to take a harvested heart in his car as the ambulance driver had gone out for tea. “On that day, I thought of a possibility which was quicker and it worked,” he said.