Bhubaneswar/Berhampur: In death, a 36-year-old migrant worker from Odisha’s Ganjam district gave four people a new life. And the transportation of his donated heart aboard a Vande Bharat Express from Surat to Ahmedabad marked a first in India’s organ transplant programme.The ministry of railways, in a post on its official handle, wrote: “A heartbeat of hope, delivered on time! For the first time, a ‘live human heart’ was transported by Vande Bharat Express from Surat to Ahmedabad for a life-saving transplant.” The ministry said it was a remarkable example of seamless coordination between Indian Railways and the state administration, where every minute mattered and every effort helped save a life.The deceased, Mithun Swain, was a resident of Kalakhandi under Sorada block in Ganjam district. He had been working in a textile mill in Surat for the last two decades. He fell ill on July 28 after his left hand and leg stopped functioning. He was taken to a nearby private hospital in Surat and later shifted to a govt hospital. On July 30, a team of doctors declared him brain dead.Mithun’s family members were counselled for organ donation. After they agreed, his kidneys, liver and heart were harvested on Friday. The kidneys and liver were given to recipients at the Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre, Ahmedabad while the heart was taken to the UN Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre, Ahmedabad.Due to bad weather, the heart could not be transported by air or road. It was then decided to transport the live heart on the Vande Bharat Express from Surat to Ahmedabad. The organ was transported aboard train no. 20901, the Mumbai Central-Gandhinagar Capital Vande Bharat Express, covering the distance in around 2 hours and 38 minutes.The train departed Surat station at 9.18 am on Friday and reached Ahmedabad at 11.56 am. A green corridor was created by the RPF and Gujarat Police from platform no. 1 at Ahmedabad station to the hospital for transportation of the heart. The time sensitive journey took 217 minutes, including the train transportation, official sources said.“We agreed to donate his vital organs, including two kidneys, a liver and a heart,” said Sanatan Swain, the deceased’s younger brother, who was also working in Surat. “He not only gave a new lease of life to four patients but also became part of history, with his heart being transported by train for the first time in the country,” said Sukant Rout, a social activist in Surat.Sanatan said he and his brother had planned to visit their village on Aug 20 to attend the first death anniversary of their mother. Mithun is survived by his wife, Puja, and their five-year-old daughter.
