A 22-year-old female patient, who has been diagnosed with congenital bronchiectasis and needs to undergo bilateral lung transplant, was rushed via zero traffic to Bengaluru’s Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences in an ambulance from Mangaluru in a record 4.10 hours.
The patient transfer was coordinated by the All-India Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC).
M.K. Naushad, general secretary of KMCC’s Bengaluru chapter, said the quick transfer of the patient was possible with help from the traffic police, who created a green corridor all along a 401-km stretch.
“The ambulance driver B.M. Haneef, who in February transferred a 40-day-old baby from Mangaluru to Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences in 4.20 hours, has broken his own record this time,” Mr. Naushad said. Mr. Haneef said he rushed from Calicut to Mangaluru when he got a call that the patient should be transferred to Bengaluru. “I left Mangaluru at 11.10 a.m. and reached Bengaluru at 3.20 p.m. covering a distance of 401 km. I was a little worried as I had been driving without any rest for the last two days. Also there was a fear of having mechanical issues while driving at such a speed. But thankfully I was able to reach the patient within a short time and hope she gets the required treatment,” he said.
Durga Prasad Reddy, cardiothoracic surgeon at Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences, said the patient has congenital bronchiectasis with respiratory failure. “She needs bilateral lung transplant and we will enroll her with Jeevasarthakathe for organ donation. Meanwhile, as the patient is very sick we are stabilising her,” he said.
