Live heart transported 323 kilometres in 94 minutes

A live heart was transported from Aurangabad to Mumbai, a distance of 323.5 kilometres, in one hour and thirty-four minutes and was successfully transplanted into a 4-year-old girl.

A statement from Fortis Hospital in suburban Mulund, where the transplant took place, said that the operation was successful and the girl, a resident of Jalna, was under observation.

The hospital statement said that the live heart of a 13-year-old boy, who died in an road accident, was retrieved in Aurangabad's MGM Hospital on Friday from where it left for Aurangabad Airport at 1.50 pm.

It reached the airport at 1.54pm covering the 4.8 kilometres distance in 4 minutes thanks to a green corridor set in place there, the hospital said.

A chartered flight brought the heart to Mumbai Airport at 3.05pm from where it was rushed, via a green corridor, to Fortis Hospital, 18 kilometres away, in 19 minutes.

"The heart reached Fortis at 3.24pm, one hour and thirty-four minutes after it was retrieved in Aurangabad. The distance covered stood at 323.5 kilometres," Fortis officials said on Saturday.