Indian doctors brave extreme weather to carry out life-saving liver and pancreas

Braving biting cold incessant rain and strong winds transplant teams of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research PGIMER ensured that the precious gift of life reached two waiting recipients without compromiseIn a remarkable demonstration of medical excellence the hospital retrieved and transplanted vital organs from AIIMS Rishikesh in Uttarakhand under exceptionally challenging conditions and critical time constraintsRaghu Paswanrsquos liver one kidney and pancreas were allocated to PGIMER in Chandigarh while one kidney was allocated to AIIMS in New Delhi the heart to the Army Hospital Research and Referral in New Delhi and the lungs to Apollo Hospital in Chennai extending the donorrsquos legacy of life across multiple regions of the countryFrom sudden loss emerged a legacy of life Paswan 42 was admitted to AIIMS Rishikesh on January 16 after sustaining critical injuries following a fall from a twostorey building He suffered a severe traumatic brain injury and despite all possible medical interventions was declared brain dead Rising above immeasurable grief the family took the decision to donate his organs offering hope and life to multiple patients awaiting transplants across the countryExpressing gratitude PGIMER Director Prof Vivek Lal on Saturday said ldquoThis organ donation stands as a powerful reminder that humanity shines brightest in moments of loss Despite harsh weather long distances and immense time pressure our teams were resolute that no organ and no life would be lost due to logistical challengesldquoThe selfless decision of the donor family combined with extraordinary teamwork across institutions has given multiple patients a renewed lease on life and sustained the hope of many morerdquo he saidFollowing this noble decision organ allocation was carried out strictly in accordance with the provisions of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act THOA 1994 and established national allocation protocols through the coordinated efforts of NOTTO and ROTTO North ensuring transparency equity and timeliness PGIMER said in a statementHighlighting the surgical and logistical challenges Prof L Kaman Head Department of General Surgery PGIMER said ldquoA dedicated liver transplant team comprising Dr Swapnesh Kumar Sahu and Dr Shibojit departed from Chandigarh at 9 pm on January 22 for AIIMS Rishikesh along with a pancreas transplant team consisting of Dr Shivakumar Patil and Dr Praneeth After nearly six hours of continuous road travel the teams reached AIIMS Rishikesh by 3 am and were rushed directly to the operation theatre for preparation and coordinationrdquoThe organ retrieval commenced at 9 am and was successfully completed by 12 noon following which a lsquogreen corridorrsquo was created to ensure timebound transportation of the liver graft The teams then began the return journey and reached PGIMER in Chandigarh by 3 pm where they were taken straight to the operation theatre for transplantation Notably for the first time a liver was transported by road from AIIMS Rishikesh to PGIMER under severe weather conditions to minimise ischaemia time Prof Kaman addedEmphasising the impact on recipients Prof Ashish Sharma Head Renal Transplant PGIMER said ldquoThere are only a handful of pancreas transplant programmes in the country whereas there are a large number of patients with diabetes and kidney failurerdquo The pancreas was transplanted into a 28yearold woman who had been struggling with diabetes and had been on multiple daily insulin injections since the age of eight She is now showing clear signs of recoveryldquoWe have the experience of nearly 10 such organs being transported from various hospitals across north India including AIIMS Rishikesh AIIMS Jodhpur and Sir Gangaram Hospital in New Delhi in addition to those retrieved from hospitals in the tricity mdash Chandigarh Panchkula and Mohalirdquo he said Coordinating the complex multistate logistics Dr Maj RPS Bhogal Associate Professor Department of Hospital Administration PGIMER said ldquoThis mission was a test of realtime coordination under extreme pressurerdquoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever