For the first time, the Health Ministry has issued a Standard Operating Procedure for the transportation of human organs via road, railways, air and waterways. The government has issued the SOP to serve as a guiding document for individuals involved in organ transplants nationwide.
Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra said that streamlining of transportation aims to “ maximise the utilisation of precious organs and offer hope to countless patients awaiting life-saving transplants”.
“These SOPs are a roadmap for organ retrieval and transplant institutions across the country ensuring adherence to best practices and quality standards,” he said.
The organ transport SOPs were developed in collaboration with NITI Aayog, relevant ministries, and transplant professionals.
What do the new SOPs say?
An organ transportation is required when the organ donor and recipient are in different hospitals or cities.
As per the new SOPs, in case of air transportation, airlines carrying the organs can request the ATF for aircraft’s priority take-off and landing and arrange front-row seats.
They can also request priority reservations and provisions for late check-in for medical personnel transporting organs. According to the SOPs, the source airport will notify the destination airport to facilitate the arrival process.
The guidelines also state that the flight captain may announce in-flight that human organs are being transported.
Arrangements for carrying the organ box on trolleys from the aircraft to the ambulance post arrival can also be made by the airport and airline staff. Additionally, when the ambulance is only permitted up to the runway, the airline crew can guide and assist the accompanying medical personnel in carrying the organ box directly from the aircraft via the staircase to the waiting ambulance on the runway.
Green corridor at airports
The SOPs specify that airport officials should establish a “green corridor” and provide a trolley for transporting the organ box from the ambulance to the aircraft at the departure airport and vice versa at the destination airport. They also say that the green corridor may be provided on the request of specific authorities or agencies.
Sensitising traffic police
The SOPs also emphasise the importance of sensitising state traffic police across various states about organ donation and transplant. They highlight the crucial role of traffic police in expediting organ transport through the creation of green corridors.
Organ transportation via Metro
In case of Metro, the Metro Traffic Control must give priority transit for the metro carrying the live human organs, the SOPs say.
The SOPs state that metro security staff should escort the clinical team carrying the organ box up to their boarding at the metro station. Additionally, a metro official should accompany the clinical team on the metro and secure the necessary area for the organ box.
They add that the Security Hold Area (SHA) should be notified by metro security regarding the transport of live human organs to avoid any delay during security checks. Additionally, the relevant metro personnel at the destination should be informed to ensure proper arrangements for carrying the organs.
The SOPs also state the position the organ box must be placed in and that it should ecured with a seat belt for greater safety.
(With PTI inputs)
