New Delhi, Aug 2 : Amid heavy rains and traffic snarls, a green corridor from Delhi's IGI Airport successfully transported a heart to a hospital in Gurugram, covering a distance of 18 km in just 13 minutes.

Speaking to IANS, Dr. Udgeath Dhir, Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram on Friday said that a 34-year-old man was brought to them in a critical state, with only 10-15 per cent of his heart functioning.

"He was in dire need of a transplant. We got a call in the night and then, with the help of hospital staff, and traffic police, we were able to create a green corridor and could get the heart for transplant," Dr. Dhir said.

The man from Haryana's Rohtak was suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy -- a condition in which the heart becomes enlarged and cannot pump blood effectively.

The donor's heart was received from a government hospital in Kolkata, where the 54-year-old road accident victim was admitted, and the patient was declared brain-dead.

After receiving approval from NOTTO (National Organ & Tissue Transplant Organisation), the team of doctors from Fortis Hospital Gurugram went to Kolkata to retrieve the heart.

For swift transportation of the organ, Kolkata Police created a green corridor, and the heart was brought to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata.

The heart was flown to Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi via IndiGo Airlines and was smoothly transported from the airport via VIP exit on Wednesday.

The Delhi and Gurugram Police seamlessly coordinated to create a green corridor, enabling the organ to traverse the 18 km distance from IGI Airport to Fortis Hospital, Gurugram in just 13 minutes despite heavy traffic congestion and sudden downpour.

The entire process was managed in around 4 hours with the help and support of around 100 police officers, and the heart was successfully transplanted.

"Had there been a delay, this patient would never have survived or never achieved the heart transplant. He is recuperating well and will be mobile soon in the ICU," Dr. Dhir told IANS.

/IANS