Chennai: India's leading centre for heart transplants, which has achieved a significant milestone of carrying out over 50 successful heart transplants, is toying with the idea of deploying drones to transport the organs.
Dr K.R. Balakrishnan, director, cardiac sciences, Fortis Centre for Heart Failure & Transplant, at Fortis Malar hospital here, told Khaleej Times on Wednesday that the issue of transporting crucial organs such as the heart is becoming extremely difficult in India.
"We have been using air ambulances for transporting hearts from different cities in south India to Chennai for transplants, but the industry is unorganised," he said. "In fact, it is worse than hiring autorickshaws. Operators fix prices arbitrarily and it is frightening the way prices are raised." Even the facilities for patients are atrocious inside the aircraft.
Dr Balakrishnan said that a viable alternative is for hospitals to join hands and operate drones to transport hearts and other organs along a well-defined corridor in cities such as Chennai, which has emerged as the heart transplant capital of India.
17/09/15 Nithin Belle/KhaleejTimes
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Dr K.R. Balakrishnan, director, cardiac sciences, Fortis Centre for Heart Failure & Transplant, at Fortis Malar hospital here, told Khaleej Times on Wednesday that the issue of transporting crucial organs such as the heart is becoming extremely difficult in India.
"We have been using air ambulances for transporting hearts from different cities in south India to Chennai for transplants, but the industry is unorganised," he said. "In fact, it is worse than hiring autorickshaws. Operators fix prices arbitrarily and it is frightening the way prices are raised." Even the facilities for patients are atrocious inside the aircraft.
Dr Balakrishnan said that a viable alternative is for hospitals to join hands and operate drones to transport hearts and other organs along a well-defined corridor in cities such as Chennai, which has emerged as the heart transplant capital of India.
17/09/15 Nithin Belle/KhaleejTimes
