Vinod Agarwal, Scientist (Retd)
Bureau of Indian Standard

A green corridoris a route which is determined and cleared for an ambulance carrying harvested organs. The only objective is to ensure that the human organ in transit reaches its destination, not in the hospital but on operation table, in the least possible time for the successful transplantation.

Once an organ donor's family gives its consent and the organs are matched to a recipient, the herculean task before the medical experts is to undertake the onerous challenge of transporting the retrieved organs to reach its destination in the least possible time. This is done in order to preserve the harvested organs. Various agencies are involved in this process. It seems very simple but is of great importance and complex one. So, much significance and due importance is to be assigned for it. As the delay of even a single minute or a lapse in any manner may cost many human lives and cost to the exchequer.

These agencies are: the various departments and authorities of hospitals, where the organs are being harvested, the local police particularly the traffic departments, the air port authorities and the whole system of departing and arriving at air ports, again the traffic authorities of the destination city and finally the administration of transplanting hospital. There are different people from all walks of life who are involved to make the entire process a success. The coordinators, concerned persons and different authorities might vary depending on case to case. But generally transplant coordinators of respective registered hospital, counsellors from designated NGOs (who approach family of the dead for donation), the police, traffic cops, doctors and administration, Dean of medical college etc. and officials from NOTTO, ROTTO, SOTTO are involved for the networking. The experts from different departments decide whether to activate the green corridor in the first place and once decided they put their best to make it a quick transfer. There are various legal and ethical aspects too which are taken into account for the ‘Green Corridor’ transfer to happen.

The two great factors which are involved for successful transplantation are the time management and Co-ordination between different agencies /authorities with utmost accuracy and zero lapse. Green corridor is the most important race of life which turns life-threatening complications and situation into a life-saving one. The process is all about effective management, efficiency, success and making it on time. And most importantly it is about saving life. Every possible care is taken to make the high speed journey possible removing all the anticipated hurdles for free movement of the surface/ air ambulances carrying the organs.

So, the 'green corridor' is a route between two or more hospitals, cleared and cordoned off by the traffic police, taking all the possible required measures and precautions to ensure the smooth and steady transportation of retrieved organs, to those awaiting the transplant. The traffic signals on this route are manually controlled so that organs delivery from one hospital to another can take place without delay and lives can be saved. These harvested Organs possess short preservation time such as the heart which has to be harvested and transplanted within four hours or the lungs within six hours once they are harvested. The process not only helped critical patients to meet life once again but also popularized and facilitated the need and value of organ donation among masses. Any lapse may cause the wastage of the harvested human organ putting the patient into danger and setback to the very thought of Organ donation movement.

Ever since the concept of Green Corridor was introduced, there are endless success stories in big hospitals of India. Pulling off something like ‘Green Corridor’ makes the cardiologists, doctors and other specialists in India proud and confident. In India, the concept of green corridor has been in use since 2014. Chennai was the first city to incorporate this concept. An ambulance carried a heart to save the life of a 21-year old and covered a distance of 12 kms in just 14 minutes in Chennai, from Government General Hospital to Fortis Malhar Hospitals in Adyar. Otherwise, the time taken for travel would have been more than 45 mins.

Dadhichi Dehdan Samiti also used this concept in the year 2015. Sh Vir Bhan Chowdhary, 77 years old, a retired Delhi Govt School Teacher was admitted in Orchid Hospital Janakpuri, Delhi on 14 February because of breathing problem. Seeing no improvement for two days, the doctors were of the opinion that the patient was progressing towards brain dead. So, Samiti representatives approached the family members and successfully convinced them for organ donation. Time was short, all the concerned authorities were contacted for the Green Corridor and it was created, a distance of almost 25 kms from Orchid Hospital to AIIMS was covered within 20 minutes. His both the Kidneys, Liver and corneas were harvested and thus saved the life of five persons. The family gave their consent for his heart and heart valves but it could not be done because of his advance age. We at Dadhichi felt proud to be instrumental as the life of five persons were granted extension by the almighty and expressed the gratitude to the donor’s family.

This system is now in practice and has saved lives in cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Indore, Pune, Surat, Bhopal and Greater Noida in the last few years. In the years to come, with the passage of time and on the basis of experience earned, the hurdle free human organ transportation system will be developed.