Vande Bharat again carries donor heart from Surat to Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: A live donor heart was transported from Surat to Ahmedabad aboard a Vande Bharat Express on Sunday, marking the third time the semi-high-speed train has been used for such an organ transfer.

The heart was carried on Train No. 20901, the Mumbai Central-Gandhinagar Capital Vande Bharat Express. It was collected from New Civil Hospital in Surat and loaded into coach C-12 at Surat railway station before the train departed for Ahmedabad.

On arrival, railway and police personnel created a green corridor on Platform No. 1 to enable a rapid transfer to the U.N. Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre, where a specialist medical team is to perform the transplant.

Ahmedabad Divisional Railway Manager Ved Prakash said this was the third occasion on which the Vande Bharat Express had been used to transport a live heart swiftly and safely.

The movement of donor organs is highly time-sensitive, as a heart must be transplanted within a prescribed period after retrieval. Using a scheduled train service helps reduce travel time and ensures the organ reaches the recipient hospital within the required window.

Western Railway said the operation was carried out in coordination with the hospitals concerned, state police, medical teams, the Railway Protection Force, Government Railway Police and railway staff. The arrangements included a green corridor at Ahmedabad station and a quick transfer from the platform to the hospital.

(Inputs from IANS)