Not too often does one get an opportunity to save a life, but the capital isn't prepared to take chances.
On the day of world organ donation, Fortis hospital along with Gurgaon and Delhi police organized a dry run of organ transfer. The aim was to create a 'green corridor' from Delhi Airport to Fortis hospital in Gurgaon in order to test the preparedness of the region to handle a critical situation such as an emergency organ transplant.
This route in South Delhi usually takes anywhere between 35 to 45 minutes. On August 6th, it took just 15. In the dry run, an organ arrives from an outstation Fortis facility and has to make it to the Fortis hospital in Gurgaon in just 15 minutes. A task, easier said than done in a place like Delhi.
"The quicker you reach an emergency, the quicker you'll get treated. Also, emergency is the last point. The first 2, 3 stages are the people at home, on the street, traffic, policemen. These are the people who facilitate an early transplant. If it comes there on time, we can give better quality of care", said Dr. Talat Halim, Director of Emergency and Trauma services at Fortis hospital.
"The dry run is just an attempt to check our preparedness, to check what the populous of Delhi is ready to do, are they ready to wait for an ambulance to rush through if we are planning to save a life?", said Dr. Dilpreet Bahar, Regional Director at Fortis hospital.
Inspired by the June 17th incident in Chennai when the city cleared a busy stretch in peak office hours allowing a donor to save a life by offering his heart, Delhi set out to prepare for such a situation too. The plan was ambitious. The inter-state travel would require coordination between Delhi Police, Haryana Police and the hospital authorities, but to the delight of all involved, the journey was completed exactly as planned.
"We felt very happy about it. We want to be associated with such a project which helps somebody or results in saving human lives. We would be more than happy to do our bit", said Gurgaon Police Commissioner, Alok Mittal.