The Chennai-based private MGM Healthcare hospital is exploring ways to use drones to transport organs for transplant, its director has revealed.
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari recently attended a ceremony to mark over 500 successful heart and lung transplant surgeries at MGM Healthcare via video conference.
In this regard, Gadkari said that the construction of highways reduces travel time between different cities like Chennai-Bengaluru, which would be helpful for organ transportation.
Prashanth Rajagopalan, director of MGM Healthcare, then added that the hospital was also considering using drones to transport organs from Chennai airport to the hospital.
According to him, organs for transplant operations are currently being transported by road from Chennai airport by creating a green corridor with the help of the city’s police.
He said it bothered the public and therefore the hospital was considering drones as an alternative to transport human organs from other cities.
Rajagopalan said the hospital has linked up with a city-based drone company, but declined to name the latter, citing a nondisclosure agreement with that player.
Hospital officials said transporting human organs for transplant surgery is popular in some foreign countries. And in India, permission from government authorities must be obtained.
They also said the boxes containing the human organs to be transplanted will weigh about nine kilograms and drones can easily lift them.
Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Health and Family Welfare of Tamil Nadu, Ma. Subramanian said the state is the pioneer and leader in organ transplantation.
Subramanian also said that the state government will take steps to create the necessary facilities in all its hospitals to perform organ transplant operations.
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