Amid massive exercises to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic in Kerala, the state police on Saturday operated its rented helicopter. The rented helicopter was used to transport the heart of a brain dead patient from Thiruvananthapuram to Ernakulam, a distance of around 220 km, for a patient.
The heart of the Thiruvananthapuram resident was later harvested on a 49-year-old woman patient from Kothamangalam at the Lissie Hospital in Ernakulam.
The woman was suffering from cardiac problems for the past year. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan praised the family of Thiruvananthapuram resident Laly Gopakumar. He said the humanitarian act to donate her heart, kidney and eyes was a brave move.
“She donates her heart, kidney and eyes. It was a brave move on behalf of the family during the time of immense grief. The heart was to be taken to the Lissy hospital at Ernakulam. We provided the helicopter free of cost. When such emergencies come up, we will use the helicopter,” he told reporters.”
The state government decided to use the chopper as an air ambulance free-of-cost. The government transported a vital organ as there are major traffic restrictions at district borders.
A rented helicopter, green corridors and 40 golden minutes: The story of how the medical team and Kerala Police joined hands to airlift a live heart from Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi in less than an hour to save a 48-year-old woman.@xpresskerala @njannandalal @TheKeralaPolice pic.twitter.com/dehb1rcBx4
— The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) May 9, 2020
The helicopter completed the journey in about 40 minutes to Ernakulam, after which the heart was transferred to an ambulance and taken to the hospital. The renting of the chopper earlier this year by the Left government from Pawan Hans for a monthly tariff of Rs 1.44 crore had drawn flak from the Opposition parties.
The chopper is used for various activities, including natural disasters, rescue and anti-Maoist operations.
