Ambulance With Harvested Lungs Reach Chennai On Time Despite Meeting With Accident; Patient Undergoes Transplant

A 26-year-old patient in Chennai received a life-saving lung transplant surgery on Monday, hours after the harvested organ was involved in an accident near Pune. The incident took place when the ambulance carrying the lung from DY Patil Hospital in Pimpri Chinchwad to the Pune airport hit a bridge railing due to a suspected tyre burst, injuring the driver and the medical team. 

Dr Sanjeev Jadav, a heart and lung transplant surgeon, with his team, quickly switched to another vehicle and reached the airport. The team then boarded a chartered plane to reach Chennai-based Apollo Hospital, where the surgery was scheduled.   

“We first rushed the driver to DY Patil Hospital as he was also injured and engaged another vehicle of the hospital which was trailing us and reached the airport by 6 pm as transporting the organ in stipulated time was important,” he recalled as quoted by news agency PTI.

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"When we reached Apollo Hospital in Chennai, the surgery was already undergoing and by late evening, the lung transplant surgery was also performed successfully. We are happy that the patient got a new lease of life due to the lung transplant," he added.

Dr Jadhav, who suffered injuries on his head, hands and knee, performed the lung transplant surgery successfully and said he was happy that the patient got a new lease of life.