Drone That Can Transport Organs For Transplantation Unveiled By Chennai Hospital

On Saturday, Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, launched a drone that can transport important organs throughout Chennai and was co-developed by MGM Healthcare, a Chennai-based company. Gadkari virtually announced it from Delhi. At the drone reveal ceremony in Chennai, the health minister of Tamil Nadu was present.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the local police are among the central and state organisations that must approve the battery-powered drone with an organ box before it may fly 15-20 km at 300 feet.

Dr. Prashanth Rajagopalan, director of MGM Healthcare stated that they were successful in getting everything perfect. During pilot runs, the box was able to sustain temperature, tolerate vibrations, and guarantee organ safety. He stated that the hospital will be able to begin operations if it receives the necessary approval.

The objective is to transport organs throughout the city without the use of many people or interfering with traffic. He made the announcement at a programme held to honour senior transplant surgeon Dr. K. R. Balakrishnan and his team for successfully completing more than 500 heart and lung transplants. He further added that the hospital would fly the drone to nearby districts and states in the following phase.

Getting organs to the recipient on time is one of the main problems facing India's organ transplant programmes. Organs are available in a number of Tier 2 and Tier 3 southern cities, including Nellore, Tirupati, Udupi, and Salem. Dr. KR Balakrishnan stated that transplanting the extracted heart as soon as possible—within four hours—is preferable.

According to him, not all cities and towns have airports, and of those that have, not all of them are open around-the-clock. We have started with the drone. The team claims that it has successfully transitioned from air ambulance to commercial planes to deliver organs and severely ill patients receiving life support. He added that the club has also utilised ambulance coaches.